Need You Now
by crowfliesmyass
Summary: Daryl Dixon was her shoulder to cry on; the man she really loved and the real father of her and his best friend's unborn child. When the world goes to hell, she and the baby become his main priority and he'll do anything to protect them; even if that means killing his best friend. This takes place before and during TWD. Daryl/OC and slightly OOC at the beginning.
1. Chapter 1

**_This is my latest Fanfic. I also have Horses and Crowsbows and two other ones, but they're not as good, in my opinion. This story is about Daryl and how he fell in love with his best friend's girlfriend and eventually finds out that he's the real dad of their unborn child. It takes place a few years before TWD Season 1, then moves on to it very quickly. I'll admit that Daryl is slightly out of character in the first few chapters, but then he becomes the Daryl we all know and love. The song 'Need You Now' really inspired me. _**

**_Thanks for reading my fanfiction. Please review and favorite. If you don't like something; tell me. If you do like something; tell me anyway. _**

**_Here it goes:_**

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**_Need You Now_**

_It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now.  
Said I wouldn't call but I've lost all control and I need you now.  
And I don't know how I can do without.  
I just need you now._

**_If someone told you that you'd fall in love one day, regardless of who you are, were and want to be some day and in spite of all that you've been through, would you believe them? _**

**_What if they told you that one day, the dead would rise and kill more than 90% of the population on Earth? _**

**_What if that same person told you that you'd end up wanting to kill your best friend one day, because of how he treats his girlfriend and the woman you love? Would you still believe them? _**

**_If someone had told Daryl those things, he'd have told them to go straight to hell and stay there. After all, why would you want to kill your best friend over a girl? It's stupid and meaningless, right? _**

**_That's what he thought all his life. Through middle school and all the way through the two years he spent in high school before dropping out. That was before he met her and he saw what kind of man his best friend was. _**

February 2006

Jackson's Bar was emptier during the week compared to Friday nights. That didn't mean nobody was there; the usual lot of bikers were there, heads banging to the booming metal that was playing through the speakers, cigarette tucked tightly in-between their lips while either playing a game of darts or pool. Each person had their talents, whether it was winning or cheating, although you were as good as dead if you ever tried to point out the latter to any of them. There were a few guys sitting at the bar, flirting with the waitresses or bitching about football. At the back of the bar in the alley, you got the addicts. They had every drug one could only imagine. Of course, with drugs, comes crime and the back alley was also the place where people got beat up, murdered and raped.

The women that hung around the bars were no different to the men; some of them were somehow connected to the biker gangs acting as wives, girlfriends, sisters or just average members. Some were drug addicts too, although the women addicts were also mostly the prostitutes.

27-year-old Daryl Dixon had just been let go from his job as a mechanic at the local garage. He had nothing to lose. Besides, he was basically royalty within this particular community because of Merle. Merle Dixon: the guy that provided 70% of the supply of drugs. Also part of multiple racial groups, bike gangs and not to mention he was the eldest son of Will Dixon and older brother of Daryl.

Daryl tilted his shot glass, looking down impassively at the beige liquid that filled the small glass. His messy brown hair fell over his blue eyes as he contemplated life and multiple other things that included the life his father and brother set out for him. He sighed tilted his head, put the glass to his lips and let the cool liquid run down his throat. He turned his head around, looking for Jackson, the bartender.

"Somethin' I can do for ya?" she asked. He faced the front. He instantly saw her light green eyes looking at him; a small smile curling on her pink lips. Her bright green eyes contrasted with her pale skin and auburn hair, making them look brighter than they should be. Her hair was pulled back into an untidy high ponytail, with chunks of hair sticking out, framing her face and hiding the four piercings in each ear. Daryl's eyes traveled from her face all the way down. He couldn't help but notice how the black Marilyn Manson t-shirt she was wearing clung to her petite body, showing off her curves, a bit of her stomach and a bit of cleavage. She had a dishrag over her shoulder, covering one of her pale shoulders.

"Rough day at work?" she asked him, hands now on her hips. Her voice was soft and she had a Georgia accent, much like him and everyone else that were in the bar.

Daryl blinked away and looked down at his empty glass. "I'll have another one," was all he said and pushed the glass towards her, assuming she worked there. She snorted and turned around, reaching for the bottle of Whiskey that was on the shelf behind her. Daryl took the opportunity to check her out some more and observed the way her dark blue jeans hugged her hips perfectly. As she stood on tip toes, her t-shirt rode up a bit more, exposing more of her back. Once she got the desired bottle, she spun around and put it on the counter next to his glass. "Tell you what; this one's on me, just because you look so sad," she slightly teased and bent down to get something from underneath the counter. Once again, Daryl took the opportunity to look down her shirt as it rode down. He blinked away again when she came back up at placed another shot glass on the counter. She poured some alcohol in each glass.

"The hell're you?" he asked softly, looking down at his refilled glass.

She arched an auburn brow and licked her lips. "'M new 'ere. Name's Rachel. You're Dixon, right? Danny Dixon? You're brother's Merle, huh?" she asked. Daryl was astonished. _How the hell did she know who he was?_

He cleared his throat and looked at her. The black eyeliner she was wearing really complimented her eyes. "_Daryl_. Ma name's Daryl."

She scrunched up her face and apologized for getting his name wrong. He nodded, shaking her mistake off. "Well, _Daryl_," she said his name clearly, "you're not the only one havin' a crappy day," she told him sympathetically and held up her shot glass, "Here's to better days!"

Daryl hesitated for a while before raising his glass and clinking with hers. They downed the shot at the same time and from that minute; it was safe to say that Daryl started developing a crush on the new waitress.


	2. Chapter 2

One Week Later

"Shut the hell up, Clyde!" Daryl roared before breaking out into laughter. He nudged his friend, who was sitting next to him at the bar.

Clyde shook his head. "Uh uh, man; I swear to God. The bitch waltzed right in and caught us red-handed in mah bed. Ain't nothin' I coulda said or done to change 'er mind, but you know wha' I say? I say to hell with both of 'em!" he told Daryl. He was talking about the time his ex- girlfriend caught him in bed with her mother. Of course, that was the last straw for his ex and she took off, leaving her mother behind with Clyde. Clyde broke off whatever he had with her and hadn't from either them since. He couldn't care less, though. Daryl slurped the last bit of liquor that was in his glass.

He looked around the bar until he spotted Rachel serving a group of what appeared to be college students. "Psst!" Her head shot up from looking down at her notepad. A small smile appeared on her face. He motioned for her to come and she held up one finger to say 'just a minute'. Daryl nodded once and looked back at Clyde.

"Who's that?" he's inquisitive friend asked, looking at Rachel, then at Daryl. Daryl shrugged and mumbled something under his breath. "Well then don't mind if I do," he purred to himself and stood up. "Hey sweetheart in the cowboy boots!" he yelled across the restaurant. All eyes were on him. Daryl lowered his head in embarrassment and his glass suddenly became the most interesting thing in the world. He slowly looked up to see what Rachel's reaction was and to his surprise, she was covering her mouth with her notepad and giggling away. A small smile played on the redneck's lips as he watched her. "What time're you off?!" he yelled again.

Rachel's eyes looked up at the clock. "In four hours time, so sit the fuck down before I call my boss!" she retorted, causing chuckles and 'ooh's' all around the room. Daryl himself let out an 'ooh'. Like a girl like Rachel would ever do guys like them.

"Clyde, sit down, man," Daryl told him and tugged on his friend's jacket. Clyde ignored him and went up to Rachel instead of shouting. And then something crossed Daryl's mind; Clyde wasn't even drunk yet.

"Hey, baby cakes. Why don't you go ask Blondie over there to cover your shift? Jus' for tonight," Clyde continued to try his luck. Daryl watched in horror as she nodded and went over to the blonde waitress to ask her if she could leave. The blonde nodded and before Daryl knew it, Rachel and Clyde were heading out the door, going to who-knows-where.

That was when it all began.

**6 Months later**

"Old man at it again?" she asked, refilling his glass. Daryl snorted as cocked her a half smile before gulping down the ice cold beer that was on the counter. She watched him down it and when he was done, she crossed her arms, arching a red brow. "Why you still go to 'is house is a Goddamn mystery," she stated. Daryl tilted his head backwards and banged the glass down on the counter playfully, asking for more. She sighed and shook her head before refilling his glass once again.

"I told you, Rach; we still go on huntin' trips an' shit. Besides, I think he's become a bit scared of me, y'know? 'specially when I'm drunk," he told her. Whenever he got kicked out of his dad's house, he'd go to Jackson's for a drink or two. He'd been doing it for a while now. He and Rachel had become quite good friends; maybe it had something to do with the fact that he wanted to keep a close eye on her while she was with Clyde.

He'd gotten to know a lot about her and vice verse. For example, she'd been running away from her dad and that's why she became a waitress. She knew about Will abusing Daryl and Merle as children as well as he knew that she was obsessed with piercings. Point is that they nearly knew everything about each other, from favorite colors all the way to shoe sizes. Of course the fact that Clyde always spoke about her contributed as well.

One thing that kept bugging him was the fact that Rachel didn't know what kind of man Clyde _really _was. She didn't know about all the affairs, drugs and anger issues that followed him everywhere. He'd tried so hard to keep the secrets to himself.

"So…heard from Merle yet?" she asked. He looked at her and thought about for a while; he actually hadn't heard anything from Merle, who was away in the army. Daryl slowly shook his head and looked down. Rachel could sense that she'd touched up on a subject that he didn't like. She sighed and reached out to touch his hand, which was on the table. At first he flinched, not knowing what she wanted to do to him, but put his hand back out when he saw her re-assuring smile that she wore. She held his hand and gave it a small squeeze. "I'm sorry," she apologized. He shrugged and shook his head before gently pulling his hand away from her grip. She opened her mouth to say something, but Clyde suddenly burst into the bar with a single red rose.

"Where is she? Where's my beautiful hooker?!" he yelled, causing her to giggle a bit. He handed her the rose and hopped over the counter to pull her into his harsh embrace. Daryl subtlety watched as Clyde put his hands all over her butt. _Just the way he did it boiled Daryl's blood; he treated her like an animal. _Once the two finished their almost-sex kiss, Clyde looked over at Daryl.

"Bet you're jealous! Ain't that right, bro?" he teased, completely unaware of Daryl's feelings for Rachel.

Daryl stood up, chair scraping the floor and looked at the two. "Just peachy," he snapped and with one last look, paid and left the bar.

**1 year later: **

**August 2008**

Clyde and Rachel were still together. There was nothing Daryl could do about it anymore besides avoid the issue by going on more hunting trips with his dad. He hardly ever went to the bar anymore and when he did, he they'd engage in conversation for a while before they got interrupted by either a drunk person or Clyde. This time, however they managed to talk for a bit longer than usual.

"You okay?" she asked him with a slight pout. He shrugged and slumped back in the bar stool he was sitting in. She tapped her fingers on the counter and stared at him until he spoke up; something that she'd learnt to do to him when he was down in the dumps. Rachel noticed that lately he had been sad and a bit angry and the constant scowl on his face rectified her observations.

He ordered another drink and as she turned around to get the bottle, he saw something that sent a chill down his spine. Something that made him wonder what Clyde was during to her. Her navy t-shirt rode up and exposed the black bruise. Daryl knew exactly how people got _those _kinds of bruises. Hell, he had every single color of bruises when he was a child. The round bruises she had were from a cigar, something that Clyde often smoked. His hands balled into fists as his mind replayed the possible scene in his head. Was it punishment for something she said or did?

"Rach, wha's with them bruises?" he whispered, not wanted to draw too much attention to himself. Rachel spun around and pulled her shirt down. Her eyes were widened when she looked at him; almost as if she was embarrassed or ashamed. She licked her lips and cautiously looked around before looking back at Daryl.

"It's nothin'," she lied.

Daryl narrowed his late blue eyes and looked at her. "It ain't '_nothin''_. I know 'xactly wha' that is. Did Clyde do it to ya?" he asked her with both his brows raised. She rolled her green eyes and sighed, giving in to him.

She nodded slowly. "Yeah," he voice croaked. Daryl nodded pushed his glass forward while standing up swiftly. Rachel rushed out from behind the counter and pulled his arm before he could go anywhere. "Please don't. I deserved it, kay?" she told him softly.

He narrowed his eyes. "Why? Somebody's gotta teach 'im a lesson. Why'd ya think you 'deserved it'?" he questioned. She flipped her bangs back with her hand and sighed. She pouted some more and looked at him, eyes pleading him not to say anything. After a few seconds of looking at her, he finally nodded slightly. "Fine. But lemme tell ya somethin'; Clyde ain't the person ya think he is. Imma let that sink in," he told her and shook her hand off his arm before walking out of the bar, leaving her all alone. She caught a few tears from her eyes as she watched him leave. She knew he was only trying to help.

That was the moment she felt the most loneliness in her life. A wave of Goosebumps overtook her skin as she stood there, not sure what to do next.

"'Ey, sweetheart!" someone called. She took a deep breath before going to serve the customer.

After that, they had stopped talking to each other completely for another year. Daryl's reason being that he refused to see her get hurt and he reason was because he was never around anymore, although everyday she waited for him to walk in and order his usual. She asked Clyde about it too, but regretted it. He accused her of cheating then broke up with her for a short period of time before crawling back to her and begging for forgiveness. She granted it to him but only because she had nowhere else to go; she'd been evicted from her apartment.

Rachel didn't have any other friends, either; all the other woman regarded her as the tacky waitress at the bar, plus the fact that Daryl had just disappeared. She missed seeing his scowl turn into a small smile whenever she'd crack a joke to lighten up the mood. She missed having their conversations turn into awkward staring competitions and she missed him coming into the bar after a long days work and sharing a shot with her.

After a few months Clyde changed rapidly and every day he became more and more violent towards Rachel. That's when she really started missing Daryl. She knew that if he was there, Clyde wouldn't dare touch her like that. She tried calling the redneck everyday and left him a ton of voice messages.

_"Daryl, please. The hell're you? Call me back. I miss you," _

_"Hello? Daryl, where'd ya go? Call me as soon as possible." _

He got the messages, but just never bothered to reply. One day, however, he had just come home. He threw his angel-winged vest on the couch, along with his keys. He went straight to the phone and pressed the red button down, slightly eager to hear her voice. This time it was different. _She was crying. _

_"Daryl? Daryl Dixon? It's me, Rach. Please, Goddamnit, pick up the phone. I need someone to talk to. Please. It's Clyde. He's– BEEP" _

Daryl rapidly picked up the phone. "Rach?" he called out.

Beep Beep Beep!

He slammed the phone down angrily. "Shit!" he cussed aloud. He brushed his hand over his face before giving the table a bang. He went to the couch, grabbed his keys and left his apartment. He rode his motorcycle to Jackson's and hesitated before heading inside. Looks were shot at him as he walked through the restaurant to get to the bar. He stood at his usual spot and looked around to see if he could spot the auburn head.

"Daryl?" he heard her voice from behind. He spun around and saw her; her lip was cut and there were a few more bruises. He stepped back, horrified at what he was seeing; the happy, smiling woman he knew was now suddenly this sad, depressed girl. He opened his mouth to say something, but close it when he could find the right words to say. She bit her lip, preventing herself from crying before going up to him and hugging him. "He's changed," she whispered in his ear. Daryl's face dropped.

"Why're you still with 'im?" he asked her when they broke apart.

She shrugged. "'Cause he needs me. I gotta make sure he doesn't overdose or somethin'," she lied to him. The real reason she was still with him was because she was too damn scared to leave him. He'd always threaten her whenever she wanted to break it off. Moreover, she still had nowhere else to stay. She doubted Daryl would want to live with a reckless, defenseless woman, who destroyed his relationship with his best friend.

Daryl shook his head. "Naw. He don't need you. He don't deserve you neither – "

"Dixon?!" a familiar voice roared from behind. He looked at Rachel and could tell by her expression that it wasn't someone she exactly wanted to see at that moment. He sighed and turned around, appalleded at how Clyde looked. His face lost color and became thin and wrinkly. "'Ey, why don't you come give yer ol' friend a hug?" he asked and held out his arms. Daryl stepped back and in front of Rachel protectively. Clyde put his arms down and looked at Rachel. "Gotcha a new friend over 'ere, huh sweetheart?" he said to her.

Daryl narrowed his eyes. "Why dontcha go take a piss? We're talkin'," he snapped, furiously.

Clyde let out a small laugh and stepped forward. "Wha' is this? Dr. Phil? Get outta ma way, Daryl. She's mine," he hissed.

Daryl stepped forward, too. "Don't look like it. You're mama would be ashamed," he warned Clyde, who had heard enough. He launched a punch at Daryl's face, but he instantly caught his fist and sent him a punch in the stomach. Clyde clutched stomach and looked up at Daryl with a scowl. He got up and threw Daryl another punch, hitting him this time. Daryl held his bloody nose for a second before tackling Clyde down to the ground. The two tossed and turned for a while, both getting in some good punches.

"Clyde, stop it!" Rachel screamed over the chants that the spectators were yelling.

"Shut up!" Clyde snapped at her as Daryl got the upper hand. Daryl sent blows to his stomach and face, rage overpowering him. Before things could get any worse, Jackson arrived on the scene and pulled Daryl off Clyde viciously. He threw Daryl one side and looked down at Clyde, who was apparently laughing. "You've changed, Dixon. I'm impressed," he said and got up. "We're quittin' this place. C'mon," he told Rachel, who was so frightened to argue. Daryl wiped his nose and watched Clyde pull her behind him.

"Daryl, I think it'll be best if you leave," Jackson told him calmly. Daryl sighed and apologized before heading back to his apartment.

He hated Clyde.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Wow. I'd say this story isn't doing too bad. Thanks so much guys! Again, if something's on your mind, don't hesitate! Tell me! Ask me! Criticize my writing style! Tell me my story's crap if it's crap! I want to know what you guys think. **_

_**Hope you enjoy!**_

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**May 2009**

When the incident with Daryl happened 9 months ago, Clyde apologized to Rachel and promised to treat her better. He thanked Daryl later and mended their friendship, or so that's what Daryl led him to believe, just like Merle used to tell him:

Keep your friends close but you're enemies closer.

Rachel was doing better. Clyde hadn't beaten her in a long time. She decided to give him another chance if he swore to her that he'd improve. Daryl held him on to that. The three of them hung out at the bar on a weekly basis. Merle was back in town, too and Daryl had already warned him not to go near Rachel. He didn't argue; he could see how much it meant to Daryl.

Daryl sat on his couch by himself, smoking away while he watched the football game. It was early evening, so he wasn't wearing much; just his boxers.

"OW FUCK! GOT 'IM A DAMN HOMERUN!" he yelled victoriously and stood up. He sat back down and sipped on the beer he was holding in his other hand.

That's when someone knocked on his apartment door. He looked at it and waited to if whether the person would knock again or not and sure enough, they did. He stood up and put his cigarette out and went to the door, still sipping on the beer. He unlocked it and stuck his head out.

"Rach?"

She looked a mess; she was wearing a tight mini dress and holding her electric blue high-heels in her hand. Her auburn hair was down and messy and her face was stained with mascara, cuts and a black eye. Her lips were quivering from crying as she stood there.

"Getcha ass inside. Jesus, girl," was all he said and stood aside for her to come in. She wiped her nose and went inside with Daryl closing the door behind her. "Wha't he do?"

Of course Clyde was behind this. He knew that. From what he could see, he assumed that the two went out to dinner or something before he struck her. She must've run away. He excused himself immediately to get a shirt for himself. The last thing he needed was for her to see the scars. She sat on the couch and waited patiently for his return. She took the time to study Daryl's apartment; it wasn't big. The living room, kitchen and dining room was in one area and then there was Daryl's room and the bathroom. It wasn't decorated in any specific way or style. Sure, he had a couple of paintings on the wall but that was about it. Next to his television was a crossbow. _Probably for hunting, _she thought.

Daryl put on the first t-shirt he grabbed and got a first aid kit from his bathroom, along with a face rag. He sat down next to her on the couch and without saying a word or even asking her, cleaned up the gashes on her arm and face. She also had a bruise on her arm, probably from Clyde grabbing her too hard.

"We were havin' an okay time," she told him, "then we drove to the club an' I told 'im I didn't wanna go, but 'e pulled me inside an' told me to 'suck it up'. Then I went to the bar an' the bartender started flirtin' and he just got so jealous so I threw my drink at 'im for bein' such an asshole an' that's when 'e took me outside an' – " she sniffed and looked down at the ground. She didn't have to continue. Daryl knew what happened after that.

When Daryl was done, he let her take a shower and gave her one of his t-shirts for the night, since he didn't want her going back to him. He decided to take the couch and let her take his bed.

They were sitting on the couch, watching TV and drinking to get their minds off the situation. When she arrived, Daryl was already half drunk, so it didn't take long until he was completely drunk. It took Rachel a few more beers, but she eventually got there, too. Daryl lit himself a cigarette and started smoking. Rachel watched with fascination as he exhaled; she'd never smoked in her life. He noticed the awe in her face and took the cigarette out of his mouth to offer her some. She smiled and nodded before taking it and sticking it between her lips. Daryl explained to her how to smoke and after the first try she was coughing up a storm. Daryl just laughed at the amateur smoker as he watched her try over and over. When she got it right, she gasped excitedly and tried again and again until she almost perfected the art of smoking.

They must've been messing around for a few hours before they settled down on the couch and watched some more TV.

"Hey, Daryl?" she asked, breaking the silence. He turned his head to look at her, "This might sound a bit stupid, but can I try somethin'?"

He shrugged, not knowing what she meant and turned to face the TV once more. Rachel closed her eyes and took a deep breath before moving towards him, making him shift uncomfortably in his seat. He tried his best not to look at her while she progressed closer. He couldn't take any more and finally just looked at her, only to be pushed back with her lips against his. Her tongue was the dominant one, reason being that he had no literal idea as to what was going on. He copied her actions at first, but soon he dominated. She wrapped her arms around his neck and moved even closer to him. He lightly pushed her down so that he could be on top of her and she gladly allowed him.

This was something she's never felt; sure she'd kissed Clyde and other guys, but none of them were like Daryl. He was gentle and handled her with such precision; it made her wonder whether should've gone with him in the first place. It would've saved her a lot of pain and stress. They broke apart for a while and he apologized.

"For what?" the simple whisper escaped her lips. He looked at her one more time before going at it again. After all, this was what he intentionally wanted. He licked her bottom lip before his tongue moved into the interior of her soft mouth. While her mouth was explored by Daryl's, her hands had intentions of their own. She lifted his shirt and felt his warm, toned stomach with them as his hands lifted the over-sized t-shirt she was currently wearing, until he found her underwear and resisted the temptation to pull them off. Instead, he scooped her up bridal style and carried her to the bedroom. She was giggling and squealing with pleasure all the way. He put her down on his bed and removed his T-shirt before climbing on top of her again and meeting her mouth with his.

"Whoa, whatcha got 'ere, baby brother?!" a voice filled the room. Daryl instantly opened his eyes sat up, holding his throbbing head. He spotted Merle standing at the foot of his bed, smiling away.

"The fuck you get in?" he asked with a sigh. Merle held up a hand and swung the set of keys he had around his finger. Daryl shook his head and mumbled 'whatever' under his breath. That's when he felt something warm beside him move. He slowly looked down and saw the bright auburn hair that covered his pillow. Rachel was still asleep. "Oh shit!" he cursed and jumped out of bed, immediately fell to the ground. Merle roared with laughter as he watched his brother's reaction to the woman in his bed.

"Finally got laid, huh?" Merle teased. Daryl shot him the finger before slowly getting up to look at her. She shooed Merle out as soon as he noticed her eyes open.

When she realized who was looking at her and that both of them were naked, she pulled the blanket over her head and started crying distressfully. "Oh God. He's gonna kill me! He's gonna kill me. Daryl, wha' do I do?!" she sobbed.

He combed his hand through his brown hair and took a deep breath. "I know this is bad, Rach, but don't panic. He ain't never gonna fin' out, kay? We jus' gotta forget all 'bout it. This ain't never happened, okay?" he panicked a bit, but tried to stay calm and collected. He waited for her response, but just heard sobs coming from underneath the blanket. "Rachel?" he asked again.

Then she ripped the blanket off and looked at him. "You jus' don't get it, do ya?!" she barked. He narrowed his eyes at her. "I-I gotta go," she stuttered and got up, not caring about whether she was naked. Daryl ran around the bed and pulled her back, forgetting all about the scars he had all over his body. "You serious? You're gonna go back to that _douche bag? _You're 'ere 'cos of 'im! You're were bleedin' en' bruisin' now you're gonna go crawlin' back?" he hissed angrily. She shrugged and brushed past him to get to the dress she came in. She put her underwear back on and he put on his boxers.

"Wha't do ya suggest?! I got nowhere else to go, Daryl!" sheyelled back at him. He held out his hands, pointing out his bedroom to her. She looked at him for while and before she said yes, she shook her head. "An' if he comes back? Wha' then? He'll hurt both o' us. I can't let that happen," she told him and stepped back into the dress.

"He ain't gonna touch you if you stay 'ere. I could take the couch; ain't no big deal," he suggested.

She shook her head again. "No, Daryl. I can't do that," she said softly and moved closer to him. She caressed his face, feeling the stubble that covered the bottom half of his scowl. "I can't do that to ya." She half smiled and grabbed her shoes before heading out with Daryl right behind her.

"Rach, please!" he yelled after her, ignoring Merle, who was sitting on the couch, watching TV. Rachel opened the front door and turned around to look at him after putting her heels back on. Daryl was standing in the doorway, looking at Rachel.

"Thank you, Daryl," she said and leaned in for one final kiss. She put her hand on his chest and stepped back before leaving the building.

When she got back to Clyde, he wasn't mad; instead he was extremely apologetic. He said that he'd been having a rough time at work lately and that he got jealous because he wasn't spending enough time with her and that he loved her. That was enough for Rachel, who was just relieved that she wouldn't get another beating. She told him that she'd spent the night at her friend, Kate's house and he believed her, even though she didn't even know anybody named Kate.

About three months after Rachel and Daryl's 'misunderstanding', word quickly spread around town that Clyde and Rachel were expecting a child and that she was three months pregnant. That really seemed to infuriate Daryl because he knew what kind of father Clyde would be, but more importantly; now Rachel had no escape. Clyde had money and looks; two things that could get a man anywhere these days, regardless of how he treated people. He wasn't a billionaire, but he had a stable job. The one thing Rachel kept to herself was who the real father was. She knew, but neither Daryl nor Clyde did. She worked it out after she started receiving morning sickness.

She didn't want to tell anyone about it though; that was probably the last thing Daryl needed. Moreover, she didn't want to cause any trouble. If Clyde found out about Daryl and Rachel, who knows what could've happened? She thought about making a run for it; just one day packing up her things and leaving town. That seemed like the easiest solution, but not the smartest.

Eventually Rachel swallowed her pride and told Daryl the truth. The conversation ultimately ended in tears and shouting but when she couldn't help but feel that the weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She begged him not to tell Clyde, but he was too angry to even pity her anymore. He wasn't angry at her for falling pregnant; he was angry at her for staying with Clyde even though there was nothing keeping her there. Furthermore, he was angry at himself for letting her get drunk that night at his place. He assumed that had she never gotten drunk that night, they wouldn't be in that situation.

Three more months later, Rachel was six months and her bump was visible. She was grateful for the baby because now Clyde didn't want to beat her as often, although he would often just ignore her. She hadn't heard from Daryl in a while – she assumed that he didn't want anything to do with her or the baby. She couldn't blame him though. Who could?

It's not every day you find out that you're the real father of your friend's baby.

As time went, Rachel just accepted the fact that Daryl was gone and that she'd be spending the rest of her days taking care of her fatherless child. The child would go to school and have a better life than its mother. It would have a loving family, a good paying job and a nice house.

But when people started getting sick and the dead started knocking, she started having her doubts.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Hello! _**

**_So here's a new chapter! Before we start, I just want to tell you that this story is NOT my main priority; Horses and Crossbows is, so normally I would first try to update that one before updating this one, but today I didn't feel like writing H&C, so yeah. _**

**_This chapter's short because I didn't feel like making it longer. Simple as that. You see, when I write, I normally loose myself and can't stop for a few hours, but today it was different for some unknown reason. I dunno. _**

**_I'll make better and longer chapters in the future and don't worry: _**

**_Rachel starts to toughen up a small bit in the next chapter. Not this one, though. _**

* * *

All it took was a fever. If you had the fever, you went to hospital. As soon as you got to the hospital, you'd wait for hours. And after hours you would eventually turn. How it all started was a mystery; it was like an unexpected tidal wave just took over. When people started behaving strangely and violently, others were told to either stay inside or go to the nearest quarantine zone. Staying inside was the easiest option, but not always the safest. This option claimed more lives than it should've and it was decided that the allocated camps were better. Eventually, that option got crossed out and citizens were forced to fend for themselves.

Some people decided to throw in the towel and take their own lives instead of letting the monsters take it for them. Some decided to go solo and others decided to stick with friends, family and other people they came across. Groups fell and therefore, so did the human population. The dead took over and claimed most of the survivor's lives, expect for the lucky ones.

One day while Daryl and his father were on a hunting trip, Daryl experienced the wrath of the monsters first hand. His father had been bit and he was forced to end it before he turned. Despite the troubled life his father set out for him, he at first couldn't bring himself to do it. However after hearing his father cuss at him repetitively and telling him how 'worthless' he is, he couldn't take anymore and pulled the trigger. He didn't mourn his father's death, nor did he regret finishing him off. Instead, he simply got into his truck and made his way back to Atlanta to get Merle – and Rachel. He knew that he couldn't just leave her or his unwanted, unborn child.

When Daryl pulled up in front of Clyde's house, he knew that he would probably have to take him, too. He hopped out and jogged to the front door, trying to ignore the chaos that surrounded him. He gave the door a few loud pounds before it opened. He was immediately greeted with the stale smell of alcohol and various other things. He barged in, straight past Clyde, who'd opened the door and looked around for Rachel.

"Where is she?" he asked. Clyde called her over and Rachel came rushing into the living room, clutching several suitcases and a green bag, assumedly containing baby stuff. "Wha's all this?" Daryl asked Clyde and looked at the bags. "Goin' somewhere?"

"Away from 'ere, tha's all. You're welcome to join us, Dixon," Clyde replied with a cigar between his lips. Daryl's eyes traveled from Clyde to Rachel to the bags before he finally nodded. He moved forward and grabbed what he could, even clearing out their poor excuse of a pantry. They loaded everything into Daryl's truck and Clyde even managed to get a few tools and items from his garage, such as more gas and weapons, just in case. Since Daryl was driving and Clyde was riding shotgun, Rachel sat at the back by herself and just stared out of the window.

Next up was Merle, who had evidently been waiting for his brother for a long time. Merle had a vehicle of his own because he put his motorcycle on the back of his pickup truck and refused to leave it behind. He also brought his collection of guns along, which he'd secretly kept all along.

They were going to be alright after all, or so they thought.

For the first few days, the group drove around, originally attempting to flee the city. However that alternative was nearly impossible with all the traffic. They were stuck in traffic the whole day and Rachel befriended two women who were also waiting. Their names were Carol and Lori. They both had children and husbands, it seemed. Although Carol's husband was a bit on the grouchy side and Rachel preferred to avoid him. He reminded her of Clyde and the last thing she needed was another Clyde.

Rachel, Lori and Carol generally spoke about Rach's pregnancy and the women nostalgically told each other stories about their pregnancies. Daryl, Clyde and Merle just stayed at the car and joked around, making fun of random people they saw and Daryl and Clyde couldn't help but laugh at Merle's racial slurs. Every once in a while, either Merle or Clyde would yell at random women that walked past, but they would just show them the finger and walk away.

While Rachel, Lori and Carol were talking, Shane, Lori's assumed husband, approached them with news regarding the evacuation. As he was talking, the pounding sound of helicopters suddenly filled the air and everybody watched as about ten helicopters went straight for Atlanta. Rachel and everyone else watched in complete horror as parts of the city blew up. When the commotion settled down, Shane suggested that they set up a camp nearby for when the whole thing blows over. Lori agreed and Shane was even able to convince Ed, Carol and their daughter, Sophia to tag along.

Then, he asked Rachel if her and her group wanted to come along. She accepted almost immediately and went to inform Daryl and the others.

"'Ey. My new friends o'er there are gonna go campin' in the woods so when this whole thing's over, we'll know wha's goin' on," she explained.

Clyde narrowed his eyes. "So what? The hell you're tellin' me for?" he snapped.

Rachel stepped back. "I'm goin' with 'em," she said and looked at each of them. "That Shane guy was police officer an' he looks like he knows wha' he's doin'. I trust 'em." She opened the car door and grabbed her bags without saying another word. "The invitation was for all of us. But clearly you guys ain't game, so bye."

Daryl stepped forward as she turned around to leave and grabbed her arm. "Wait. We'll come, too," he told her. She half smiled and nodded. "Why doncha put your shit back in the car? C'mon." He took the bags from her and put them back. She rolled her eyes.

"Whoa whoa, baby brother! We don't need those pricks! Got everything we need right here!" Merle argued. Daryl ignored him and walked over to Shane. Shane held out his hand to give Daryl a handshake, but got rejected.

"We're comin'," Daryl told him. Shane nodded and told him the plan. Once everybody knew what was going on, they got into their cars and went to the woods. Daryl and Merle led them, since they knew the woods almost too well. On their way, they came across a broken down car, another car and an RV parked on the side of the road with a few people. Shane pulled over instantly – since he was a cop, it was natural for him to help people. Daryl and Merle reluctantly stopped too, but only because of Shane.

"Good evening, sir. Somethin' wrong?" Shane asked the old man as he got out of his Jeep. The man, who was trying to fix the car nodded and looked at the car. Without hesitation, Shane stuck his head inside and tried to see the problem.

"Dale, what the hell's going on?" a woman's voice asked. Shane looked at the RV and two blond women emerged. They looked like sisters. Then an Asian boy came out to see what all the fuss was about. "Dale, who's this?" The blond woman asked and cocked her head towards Shane.

The old man – Dale, looked at the two girls and the Asian boy and shrugged. "He came to help. Didn't catch his name, though…" he said and looked at Shane.

Shane cleared his throat and put his hand out to shake Dale's hand. Unlike Daryl, Dale shook it and introduced himself in a friendly manner. "I'm officer Shane Walsh," Shane said, then turned to the rest of his group, who were still sitting in the cars. Lori was the first to get out, followed by her son, Carl. Then it was Rachel, then Daryl, then Carol and her daughter, Sophia. "This is Lori and Carl," he introduced them. Lori shook Dale's hand. "That's Rachel and – sorry, I actually didn't get your name," he said and narrowed his eyes at Daryl. Rachel quickly blurted his name aloud and Shane nodded. "This is Carol and Sophia and Ed and –"

"Clyde and Merle," Rachel informed him.

Shane nodded. "Yeah. Ed, Clyde and Merle are in the cars."

Dale smiled at everyone. "I'm Dale," he said, then looked at the two blond girls.

One of them stepped forward with a smile and a wave. "Amy. This is my sister Andrea and – "

"Glenn," the Asian boy finished her sentence off eagerly and waved. "I'm Glenn."

Amy raised an eyebrow and glared at Glenn. "…Right…" she said, not sure why Glenn was so enthusiastic to introduce himself. "That's T-Dog and Morales and his family."

Shane nodded once at everybody instead of saying hello. "We're actually headin' for the woods. It'll be a lot safer," he explained, hinting for them to tag along. The more people, the better. "We wouldn't mind a few more eyes and hands."

Dale considered it. His eyes went from Shane's group to his own and something told him that his group wanted to go with the cop. He looked at Shane and sighed before nodded and accepting the invitation. "Alright. But what about the cars? Is there enough place for everybody?" Dale asked and looked past Shane and at their collection of vehicles. There were only three cars. Then, out of nowhere, two more vehicles pulled up in front of them and a few more people emerged.

"You folks okay?" a man in blue overalls asked them as he walked towards them. "I'm Jim. We're lookin' for survivors."

Shane cautiously moved closer to the man and shook his hand. "Officer Shane Walsh here. We have a problem with one of our cars and it would sure be useful if you could take a look. Maybe join our group?" Shane offered. Jim nodded and excused himself to get his toolbox form his car.

"Rach, le's go back to the car," Daryl told Rachel while Jim fixed up the car.

Rachel looked at him and narrowed her eyes. "No thanks," she spat and before he could say anything, she walked to Carol and Lori, leaving by Daryl himself. He let out a small humorless laugh before getting back inside his truck.

He looked at Clyde and smirked. "Damn, your girl is a bitch," he said, slightly joking.

Clyde snorted. "Damn right she is," he agreed, but on a more serious note. Daryl shook his comment off and played with the stubble on his face whilst waiting for everyone to wrap things up.

After an hour or two, the car was fixed and the group set up a camp in the woods.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! This chapter is really really short, but whatever. **

**I just want to say thanks for the reviews and favorites/follows. It really makes me happy to know that people are reading (and hopefully liking) my work. **

**I just wanted to say that from now onwards, I will only be updating all my stories once a week because of school. Probably every Friday or Saturday. Possibly on Sunday even. And that goes for Rope, Need You Now and Horses and Crossbows. **

**Wow. I really need to stop piling on the stories. Furthermore, I just want to remind you that this is NOT my main priority. Horses and Crossbows comes first, then this and THEN Rope. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please leave a review!**

* * *

About a week after setting up their camp, everyone had settled in. A few more people even found the camp and joined.

The men kept to camp safe and Daryl hunted for food. Glenn went into the city for supplies every once in a while and Merle, Clyde and Ed just sat around most of the time, making rude and snide comments on everybody. Nobody really liked those three. They could handle Daryl; he was just a miniature Merle to them. Nothing Shane and his shotgun couldn't handle, although the group needed Daryl and his skills.

The women on the other hand, took on more domestic roles such as washing clothes, making food, looking after the kids and of course, a daily dosage of gossip didn't hurt anyone. Before the outbreak and before the baby, Rachel would've told them all to go to hell if they thought she was going to sit around, scrubbing people's clothes. She really wanted to be out with Daryl. Not just with him, but in the woods and doing something more productive.

Rachel tried to avoid Ed and Clyde at all costs. She liked Merle. He was nice to her. Hell, he cared more for the baby than Clyde. He always made sure she ate enough and always tried to lighten the mood with a joke or two, although half of the jokes he came up with were racial slurs. She also liked Glenn and Shane. She thought it was cute how Glenn would always ask her if she needed anything before he went on supply runs. Sometimes he would even come back with things she never asked for. Shane on the other hand always stuck up for her when it came to Clyde. She'd noticed that he did the same thing for Carol and Sophia. Ed was nearly just like Clyde – maybe just older. Ever since Clyde had been hanging out with his new friend, he had become more aggressive towards Rachel. Ed told him about when Carol was pregnant and when Sophia was born. Apparently she was the most irritating thing ever. Clyde obviously believed him and suddenly became very uneasy about the baby.

Dale was also her friend. He cared about her and the baby. Every day at breakfast, he'd ask her how she felt, followed by a nostalgic tale about his wife.

Daryl and Rachel barely got time to converse. He was always hunting and she was always doing other things with all the other women. He didn't even bother to make any friends, and for some reason, he acted quite hostile around them. As were Merle and Clyde. Rachel and Carol became quite close too. Perhaps it was because they had so much in common. Lori, Jacquie, Andrea and Amy were pretty close to her too, but Carol stuck by her all the time. Rachel also tried her best to bond with the children; she wanted to get used to them.

Shane, Clyde and Ed fought daily. Clyde and Ed always had something to complain about, yet they never did anything in and around the camp. The fights would normally result in Clyde and Ed swearing at Shane, then storming off to their tents, where they wasted more time.

As for the sleeping arrangements, Rachel had her own tent. She spoke to Shane about it before hand and he agreed. He organized a tent for her and when Clyde saw it, he went ballistic. Even though Daryl, Shane and Merle never saw eye to eye, they stuck by each other that one time and overpowered Clyde. Shane even gave her the blow-up mattress. She was internally grateful.

One day, Clyde decided to with Glenn to Atlanta. At first, Glenn was reluctant, but then T-Dog, Jim and Morales offered to go, too. Rachel was relieved. Now she didn't have to run around, trying to hide away. Lori noticed her sudden change in mood when she saw Rachel coming towards them with a new load of laundry, singing and whistling away.

"Good mornin'!" she sang any put the basket down. Andrea, Amy, Lori, Carol and Jacquie smiled at her and started unloading the dirty clothes. Rachel sat down beside Amy and spread somebody's shirt over her knee before starting to scrub. Lori took a pair of jeans out of the basket and did the same. Without looking up, she asked Rachel why she was so happy. "Oh, you know. It's a beautiful day. Sun's up. Birds are singin'," she replied, not looking up either. Lori snorted and dropped the subject. After a while, Daryl suddenly emerged from the woods carrying a few squirrels and rabbits. Rachel hesitated, but finally excused herself for a few minutes to go talk to him. "Hey," she said.

He looked at her and nodded once. "Got us some squirrel fo' lunch. Hope you're hungry."

Rachel nodded and shrugged. "Starvin'. Thanks Daryl."

Daryl shrugged it off. There was a moment of silence and just as she was about to turn around and leave, he touched her arm. She turned around and looked at him. "You okay? I mean, how's the baby?" he asked. After all, it was his child. He had the right to know.

She smiled. "We're fine. 'Bout you? You good?"

"Copin'," he assured her. "I see you've made some friends. Don't get too close, kay?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Why? You plannin' on robbin' them then runnin'?" she joked. Daryl looked away. _On the contrary, that's exactly what he and Merle were planning on doing._ He let out a small laugh, trying not to look obvious. Rachel bought it. "You know Carl? Lori's kid?" she asked him. He nodded. "Well he was tellin' me how 'cool' he thinks you are. Says one day he's gonna get 'im a crossbow and go huntin' with ya. Maybe even cut the sleeves off his shirt."

Daryl snorted. "He said that?"

She nodded and giggled a bit. "Yeah. Got all of us women crackin' up. He's so cute," she went on. He couldn't help but laugh a bit too. It had been a long time since they'd seen each other laugh and it felt good. When they settled down a bit, there was another awkward silence.

"Rach," he said. His voice sent chills down her spine. No else ever called her 'Rach' besides him. She looked at him, waiting for him to continue. He swallowed. "The baby's mine, right?" she nodded. "Well as the, uh…_father_, it's my duty to protect it. If Clyde lays a finger on you, he's layin' a finger on _our _baby and I ain't gonna let that happen. Promise me you'll tell me if he's startin' his crap again."

She nodded. "Of course. Thank you."

"Don't gotta thank me. I'm jus' protectin' my own. That means you, whether you like it or not."

Rachel smiled. "Okay."

Daryl looked down at the squrels and rabbits. "Well, I better go show Shane before the prick crawls up my ass. See you around, Rach."

She watched him go. Her heart was beating faster than a rocket's pace. How the hell did she get herself into this mess, she thought to herself. She looked down at her belly and held it. "That's your _real_ daddy," she said, then smiled to herself. She sighed and looked back at the other women, who had all been watching. She rolled her eyes and went back to them. Just as Andrea opened her mouth to ask her to spill the beans, Rachel sat down and took a deep breath.

"It started out on my first day as a waitress. He was havin' a rough day and so was I…"


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! So I know I said that I'd only update every once a week, but this time I couldn't resist.**

**Hope you enjoy it. **

* * *

After dinner, Rachel decided to do the dishes. She took everyone's plate and walked over to the metal bucket they used as a sink. She sat down, humming and focused on the task at hand. She scraped all the leftovers into another bucket before washing each plate with precision. Her back was facing the others and because she was so focused, she got a fright when someone reached over and put their dirty plate with food still on it into the bucket of water. Her tongue rolled over the inside of her cheek irritably as she watched the food contaminate the once clean water. She turned around, not at all surprised to see Clyde standing behind her.

"The hell?" she asked angrily and swiftly stood up.

Clyde's smirk faded and he raised an eyebrow. "'Scuse me?"

"Why'd ya do that? Why ya jus' give the damn plate to me?" she asked him, less angrily. She didn't want to aggravate him or anything. Then she turned around and tried to clean his mess up. That's when she felt his hand brush over her buttocks and give it a squeeze. The feeling sent a chill down her spine.

"When was the last time we had a li'l _fun?_" he purred. She dropped the plate that she was holding and spun around.

"I am _pregnant," _she growled. "You will not hurt this baby."

Clyde let out a humorless laugh. "That _'baby'_ wouldn't even be inside ya if it weren't for me. Least you can do is show me some appreciation."

Rachel shook her head. "I-I don't belong to you," she muttered. She hadn't realized that she said that aloud and covered her mouth.

Clyde stepped forward. "Got somethin' on your mind?" he barked. Rachel stepped back unknowingly and knocked the bucket of water over. "Look whatcha did now, you idiot!" he roared, causing everyone to look up at the two. Clyde pushed her down into the now muddy water. Daryl shot up faster than light and made his way towards them. He gave Clyde one single blow to the nose and he went flying. Clyde tried to stand up, but Shane and Merle immediately dealt with him. Daryl helped Rachel up and made sure she was okay. Once she assured him that she was fine, he turned to Clyde, who managed to stand up.

"You're a real asshole!" Daryl yelled and jabbed his finger at Clyde. Glenn and T held him back. "She's pregnant you prick! Cancha see?!"

"Daryl, keep your voice down," Shane warned him strictly. Lori, Amy, Andrea and Jacquie went to Rachel and comforted her. Amy and Lori helped her clean herself up while Andrea and Jacquie cleaned up the plates and everything else.

Meanwhile Daryl punched Clyde one more time before Merle dragged him off into the woods to talk to him. Shane gave Clyde another warning regarding his behavior, but he simply smirked it off and went to his tent. Lori gave Rachel a set of clothes. After that, everybody decided to call it a night and hit the hay. Rachel lay in her tent, staring at the dark, dull tent wall. After a few minutes of staring into space, she heard hushed voice and movement coming from outside.

"Aw shit!" the voice cussed. She instantly knew it was Daryl. She heard him get into his tent and let out a few groans. After biting her lip and hesitating, Rachel got up, picked up her pillow and blanket and went to his tent. She opened it and the glittering moon immediately lit up the redneck's tent. Daryl lifted his head to see who it was and when he saw, he sighed and moved over – inviting her to lie down next to him. She closed the tent and put her things down beside him. She lied down with her back facing him and for a while, silence took over the chilly night.

Rachel closed her eyes and at that moment – with Daryl lying so close to her and the baby, she finally felt safe.

Her back suddenly felt warm and surprisingly, an arm crept around her with a hand holding her swollen belly. She could feel Daryl's lukewarm breath on her neck as he moved his head closer to hers. She put her hand over his on her belly and before either of them knew it, they were both out cold.

…

Rachel had been getting away with secretly sharing a tent with Daryl every night. She told him that she felt safer like that and he consented. It was strange during the day though because they couldn't show any affection for one another or all hell would break loose. Daryl asked Shane to teach Rachel some self-defense techniques for when he went out hunting. Shane agreed, though Rachel's pregnancy was slight inconvenience.

He taught her how to handle a handgun and even gave her one. Daryl also gave her a pocket knife he found in an abandoned car one day. She kept it tucked into her boot at all times.

One day while Daryl was out hunting and Glenn, T, Morales, Merle, Jacquie and Andrea went on a supply run, Clyde approached Rachel again. He had a cigarette tucked between his lips. She assumed he got it from Ed, who had packs to go around.

"Hey, baby."

She narrowed her eyes. "I ain't your 'baby'," she told him.

He held up his hands and flashed her a grin. Rachel wasn't amused. "Since when?" he asked and inched closer to her. She gulped as he reached out to touch her again. "Thought we had somethin' special." He moved his hand to her thigh and progressed further up to where she felt uncomfortable. "This damn baby is takin' up all your time," he purred. "Can't wait to get rid of it."

She decided that she'd heard enough and quickly got her pocket knife out, holding it against his throat. "When this baby is born, you will not touch it. You will not look at it and you sure as hell won't even think 'bout it or I will kill you. I've taken enough shit for too long and I am done," she growled. Adrenaline shot through her body. She couldn't believe what she was doing. What came over her? She held the knife at his throat.

He let out a chuckle. "Whoa, honey. Slow down."

"I ain't you 'honey' or your 'baby'."

"Since when?" he asked.

She gulped again. "Since you first laid your hand on me. I've been wantin' to do this for so long. Oh it feels good. I'm warnin' you, Clyde. Stay away from me or I'll kill you," she growled.

"You ain't got the guts," Clyde spat and took the knife from her. The next thing she knew, her face was pounding and her nose, dripping with blood. Clyde shook his head and smirked while he threw the knife down on the floor and walked away. "See you tonight, _honey_," he yelled, leaving her with her bloody nose.

Rachel didn't cry. She didn't have any more tears _to _cry. Instead, she wiped her face with her t-shirt and picked up her knife.

* * *

**So what do you think? Too rushed, or…? **


	7. Chapter 7

Later that day, Glenn, Andrea, Jacquie, Morales, T-Dog and Merle still hadn't come back from Atlanta and Amy was starting to get worried. Lori had gone off looking for mushrooms some time ago. The funny thing was, Shane was out checking the perimeter. Those two were out there doing God-knows-what. Clyde and Ed were sitting on top of the RV on watch, or so they wanted people to think. Rachel, Amy, Morale's wife and Carol were looking after the kids. After some time Lori and Shane came back Lori and some of the other women in the camp did the washing.

Suddenly the CV went off. It was T-Dog and he was trying to tell them that they were surrounded by walkers and stuck in a department store. Dale tried to respond, but they lost contact. Lori suggested that they go looking for them, but Shane refused and said that there was nothing they could do.

"She's my sister, you son of a bitch!" Amy spat and ran off. Shane and Lori exchanged glances before she ran after Amy.

A few hours later, a pounding alarm rang though everybody's ears. Dale grabbed his binoculars and surveyed the road. It appeared that there was a red sports car heading towards them. The car finally reached them and a rather excited Glenn emerged. The car alarm was still going off. Shan demanded Glenn to 'pop the hood' so he could turn it off, then he scolded him for making such a noise. Amy questioned Glenn over and over about Andrea's whereabouts, until they saw a truck coming down the road. The first person to come out was Andrea, and Amy instantly ran up to her and hugged her. Morales greeted his family and T and Jacquie greeted everybody else.

Rachel stood aside and just observed while holding her belly. Just as everybody was about to go back to their business, a stranger wearing a police uniform made his way to them. Everyone watched as his face dropped when seeing Shane, Carl and Lori.

"D-DAD?!" Carl hollered and sprinted towards his apparent father. Lori followed her son and the three of them shared an overdue embrace. The man looked at Shane and the two of them shared a warm hug, too. That's when something hit Rachel – where the hell was Merle?

Her smile faded quickly and she waddled forward. "Where's Merle?" she inquired. The man and T exchanged looks. Rachel got the message. She thought about Daryl and how he would react. She backed up with her hand covering her mouth in shock. "How could you?" she breathed. "He's Daryl's _brother_."

"I know, Rachel, but it was complicated. You know Merle," Glenn stepped in. Rachel bit her lip and processed everything. "You're gonna have to tell 'im," she warned them. The man nodded.

…

The next morning after breakfast, everybody heard two ear-piercing screams. The men immediately grabbed weapons and ran towards the screams while everyone else just followed. The screams were coming from Sophia and Carl. Apparently, there was a walker nearby. The stranger – Rick, Shane, Glenn, Morales, Jim and Dale confronted the walker, who was feasting on a deer, by beating it up several times before Dale decapitated it with his axe. Rachel, Amy and Andrea watched from a distance in disgust. Then there was a rattling sound coming from the woods. A few branches snapped and Shane pointed his shotgun at the area. To everyone's relief, it was only Daryl coming back from his hunt. Shane lowered his gun. Daryl looked down at the deer and sighed irritably.

"Son of a bitch!" he exclaimed. "Tha's _my _deer! Look at it all gnawed on by this filthy, disease -bearin', motherless poxy bastard!" he yelled as he kicked the walker repeatedly.

Dale shook his head. "Calm down, son. That's not helping," he told Daryl. _Bad idea._

Daryl walked up to Dale and jabbed his finger at him. "Wha' do you know 'bout it, old man? You take that stupid hat an' go back to 'On Golden Pond'," he barked and turned back to the deer. "Been trackin' this deer for miles!" He retrieved his arrows, "gonna drag it back to camp – cook us up some venison," he looked at Shane while pointing at the eaten part, "you think we can cut 'round this chewed up part right 'ere?"

Shane shook his head. "I would risk that."

Daryl sighed. "Damn shame. Well I got us some squirrel – 'bout a dozen or so. It'll have to do." He looked around and spotted Rachel. She gave him a small comical smile. He shook his head slightly, trying to refrain from smiling back at her. He stepped forward without looking and walked into the walker's head. "C'mon, people, what the hell?" Daryl said and shot it with his crossbow. He took his arrow out of the geek's head and put it back in his crossbow, "It's gotta be the brain; don't ya'll know nothin'?" And with that he made his way back to the camp with everyone following.

"Merle! Merle!" Daryl yelled. "Getcha ugly ass out 'ere! Got us some squirrel! Le's stew 'em up!"

Rachel started feeling sick. _He didn't know yet. _She called his name and he looked back at her. "There's somethin' you gotta know…" she told him, afraid of what his reaction would be.

He put his crossbow down and looked at her confusedly. "'Bout what?" he asked her. She couldn't bring herself to tell him and Shane noticed. He quickly took over. Clyde and Ed watched the show unfold from on top of the RV.

Shane took a deep breath. "Merle. There was a, uh…problem in Atlanta."

Daryl's face dropped. He looked around and everybody was standing around him, looking at him. He looked at Rachel and her facial expression said it all. He turned back to Shane and frowned. "He dead?"

"We're not sure."

"He either is or he ain't!" Daryl argued.

That's when Rick stepped forward. "No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it."

Daryl narrowed his eyes as he inspected the strange man. "Who are you?"

"Rick Grimes."

Daryl snorted. "Well – _Rick Grimes ," _he mocked, "you got somethin' you wanna tell me?"

"Your brother was danger to us all, so I handcuffed on a roof, hooked to a piece of metal. He's still there," Rick got the point.

Daryl turned around and wiped his face. "Hold on," he mumbled, then turned around again and looked at Rick. "Let me process this: sayin' you handcuffed my brother to a roof…AND YOU LEFT HIM THERE?!" Daryl shouted angrily. Rachel had never seen him this distressed. _Daryl Dixon was crying_.

Rick nodded. Daryl took a deep breath and threw the squirrels aside, distracting Rick while he took out his hunting knife and tried to attack Rick. Shane intervened, however and held Daryl in a headlock.

"You best let me go!" Daryl yelled. Rachel bit her lip. She could stand to see Daryl like this any longer.

Shane sighed. "I think it's best I don't."

"Choke holdin's illegal!" Daryl complained.

"Yeah, you can file a complaint," Shane retorted sarcastically.

"Shane, let 'im go!" Rachel cried out and moved closer to them. Glenn stepped in front of her, preventing her from moving any closer. Daryl started panting while Rick spoke to him calmly. Eventually Shane let him go. Rick then announced that he was going back into the city to get Merle. Daryl snorted humorlessly and stormed off to his tent. Rachel shot both Rick and Shane a scowl and went after him. Clyde watched jealously. _How come she ran after Daryl, but not him like that? Or tried to defend him? _He shook his head and went back to watch-duty with Ed.

_She'd pay for it later._

Meanwhile, Rachel waddled after Daryl, holding her belly. When she got to his tent, she could hear subtle sobs coming from inside. She bit her lip and hesitated. Finally she opened the tent and went inside. Daryl was on the floor in a crawling position, with his head bowing. He was crying. Rachel got down next to him and lightly rubbed his back.

"Hey. Daryl? It's gonna be okay. You know Merle – he's tough as shit," she comforted him. He took a deep breath and looked at her. He nodded his head. "Okay?" she asked. He nodded some more. She patted his back and smiled. "Well alright then."

The two shared a gaze and Daryl couldn't help but lean forward. His lips crashed against hers and their tongues played together. She taken by surprise at first, but settled down by wrapping her arms around his neck. He stopped and looked down at her belly, which was in the way. She looked down too and smiled. Daryl reached out and placed his hand on hit.

"Hope your eyes are shut tight in there. Ain't gotta see whacha your mama and dad are gettin' up to," he spoke to it. Then he realized what he said. _Mama and dad. _It sounded so wrong to refer to himself as 'dad', but it felt so right speaking to Rachel's stomach like that. He looked up at her and smiled. She caressed his face and kissed him once more.

They broke apart and she rested her forehead on his. "Rick's goin' back for 'im. You best get ready," she whispered. He sighed and stood up before helping her up, too. "Meetcha out there."

…

After Daryl, T, Rick and Glenn left, the day went relatively quickly; Rachel and the other women managed to quite a lot of washing done while Andrea and Amy managed to catch some fish for dinner. Before that, however, there was an incident. Andrea, Carol, Amy, Jacquie and Rachel were doing the washing when Ed decided to interfere because they were laughing. He told them to stop messing around and to stick doing the washing. Then Andrea told him that he could do his own washing for a change, but that just made Ed threaten her. After arguing with the women, he commanded Carol to go with him, but Andrea and Jacquie argued. One thing led to another and Carol ended up getting a slap across her face. Rachel and Amy comforted her while Andrea and Jacquie tried to push him away. That's when a hand grabbed Ed by the scruff of his shirt and threw him to the ground. _It was Shane_. They all watched in horror while Shane beat Ed into a puss-filled pulp. When Ed got back up, Shane kept a real close eye on him as everyone walked back to camp. Then Dale notified everyone about what Jim was doing – digging graves for some unknown reason. Ultimately, Shane was forced to tie him up underneath a tree to calm him down for a while. After some time, Shane let him go and allowed him to join everyone for dinner. Everybody besides Ed and Clyde, who were both sleeping already, even though Clyde should've been on watch.

The only problem was that Rick, Glenn, Daryl and T weren't back yet and Lori and Rachel started getting worried. Lori refused to eat until her husband came back, even though Shane tried his best to convince her. Dale had just finished his story about his watch when Amy stood up.

"Where you going?" Andrea asked her sister.

Amy sighed. "I need you pee," with that, she walked off, "try to be discreet around here." Everybody laughed. A few minutes later, she came out of the RV again and stood at the door. "We're out of toilet paper!" she announced. Nobody really paid attention, but as soon as the air filled up with her screams. Everyone watched in horror as a walker bit into her arm. Soon, there were walkers everywhere and the camp was chaos. Everyone was running around, looking for safety. Clyde soon came rushing out and spotted Rachel all by herself. He grabbed the baseball bat that was nearby and made his way towards her to protect her, a deed that surprised her greatly. He led her to the RV where Lori, Carol, Shane, Carl and Sophia were.

For Rachel, everything was in slow motion. It felt like everything was just a dream. She looked around and the only things she saw were bodies, blood and walkers. She looked at Andrea, who was cradling a dying Amy in her arms, then at Clyde, who actually looked scared. She grabbed his hand and her fingers intertwined with his. Now he knew how she felt all the time around him. Just as they were started bracing themselves for death, Daryl, Rick, Glenn and T emerged from the woods with loaded shotguns. They took down every single walker they possibly could and when they were done, Daryl looked at Rachel and Clyde and noticed them holding hands.

Anger and pain shot through his body. It felt as though someone unloaded a gun on him and each and every inch of his body ached. He could feel his face heat up and he dropped the shotgun he was holding.

Daryl Dixon was heartbroken for the first time in his life.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys! Just wanted to say thanks for the follows, favorites and reviews! You readers are amazing!

Happy Easter!

* * *

After that night, things got even more hectic; Andrea wouldn't move from Amy's corpse until she turned. She even threatened Rick with a gun when he tried to talk to her. Eventually, she shot her sister in the head. It turned out that Jim got bit, too. He tried to keep it a secret, but Jacqui told everyone as soon as she found out. Daryl and Clyde insisted on killing him right there and then, but Rick refused. They finally came up with a conclusion that included going into Atlanta and to the CDC. Morales, however, and his family decided to break away from the group to be with the rest if their family and friends.

As the group progressed to the CDC, Jim's infection only got worse and soon it got so bad that the each small bump on the road felt like falling down a mountain. He couldn't take any more of the excruciating pain and asked them to leave him behind. After discussing it with the others, Rick reluctantly granted him his wish and they left him underneath a tree to die peacefully.

As they drove, Rachel, T, Shane, Glenn, Andrea and Dale rode in the RV while Rick, Lori, Carol, Carl and Sophia rode in the Cherokee and Daryl and Clyde were in the pickup truck. Merle's motorcycle was on the back of the pickup truck and Daryl wasn't about to leave it behind.

Daryl and Rachel hadn't spoken since the camp got overrun. In fact, he'd been avoiding her too. At first she didn't notice, but when they finally got to the CDC, it became more apparent. She started noticing his change in behavior when she tried to talk to him and he just ignored her. She tried repeating herself, but it was no use. The second incident was at dinner. Doctor Edwin Jenner, the only remaining scientist in the CDC served them dinner after doing blood tests and noticing how weak they all were. Rachel offered Daryl some more food, but he just looked down at the plate and moved as far away from her as possible. He, Rick, Shane and Clyde didn't stop drinking that night and soon all four of them were drunk.

After dinner, Jenner directed them to their bedrooms and announced that was warm water available, much to everyone's excitement. After settling in, Rachel and everyone else immediately hit the showers.

Rachel stripped down and spread her pajamas out on the king-sized bed in her room. She waddled to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror before getting into the shower. She could hardly recognize herself; there were dark rings around her now dull green eyes. Her auburn hair was darker and tangled and her bangs had grown out. She looked down at her belly and the rest of her body. It was clear that she'd lost some weight since the apocalypse. She sighed and stepped into the shower, craving the feeling of hot water splashing against her skin like before. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as the warm liquid caressed her body.

As much as she wanted to, she couldn't stay in the shower forever. When she was done she got changed and decided to take a walk around the facility to see what everybody else was up to. That was when the third incident with Daryl happened; she walked past his room and spotted him sitting on the floor his grey vest and boxers, drinking away. She watched him for a while before barging in and ripping the bottle out of his hand. He stood up immediately and tried to get it back.

"'Ey?! Whaddya doin'?!" he yelled and tried to get it.

Rachel refused to give it back to him and lightly pushed him back. He narrowed his eyes and frowned. "You're gonna drink yourself to death if ya don't stop," she warned him.

He let out a small humorless laugh. "Wha's it you, huh? You don' give a damn. No - You're too damn busy sleepin' around with guys. Who's next, huh? Shane? Rick? Glenn? Maybe you'll try with Jenner. Go on. I bet you don't even know who the real damn father is, you dumb whore!" he yelled. Rachel's face dropped. She could feel her face heat up. "How many times did you spread yer legs before and after that night?" he barked. Her jaw dropped. How dare he? He really crossed the line. She could feel her eyes swell. Daryl stepped back, realizing what he did.

"Is that what you think? I'm a 'whore'?!" she asked him. He remained silent. She snorted with hot tears running down her face. "That night was a mistake. Meetin' you was a fuckin' mistake. If I hadn't metcha, I wouldn't have met…" she didn't want to say his name. "Fuck you and fuck anythin' I ever thought I felt for you. Here, drink yourself to fuckin' death," she shouted and threw the bottle of alcohol on the floor before scampering back to her room. She banged the door as hard as she could and started pacing up and down while sobbing.

"Rachel, sweetie? You okay?" a soft voice called out. Her eyes darted towards the door and she saw Carol's head sticking out. Rachel bit her lip and shook her head. Carol immediately walked in, closing the door behind her and hugged the pregnant woman. "I heard the cryin'."

The two sat down on the bed and Rachel told Carol everything. Sure, she told the other women that she liked Daryl, but she never mentioned who the real father of the baby was. Everyone assumed that it was Clyde's. Once Rachel finished her story, Carol's jaw dropped slightly. "_Daryl?_" she asked, not believing what she was hearing. Rachel wiped her face and nodded, confirming what she had just told Carol. Carol sighed and pulled the younger woman into another hug, gently patting her back.

"I-I don't kno' wha't to do anymore. I'm scared and w-worried sick 'bout the baby…" Rachel sobbed. Carol assured her that everything would be alright and once she calmed down, she went to bed and Carol went back to her own room. Instead of sleeping though, Rach just lied in bed feeling more alone than ever in her pitch-black bedroom.

Daryl on the other hand was still sitting on his bedroom floor, except he wasn't drinking anymore. He sat, staring at the blank beige wall of his room. He felt lost and confused. _What the hell just happened? _He personally could not believe what he just did. After all, he was supposed to be her protector. He glanced at the nearly empty bottle that was lying on the floor and gave in. He gulped it down until there wasn't a single drop left.

…

The next morning at breakfast things were relatively tense. Rachel didn't even look at Daryl. He could see that she was upset, though. Everyone could. When Lori asked her if she was okay, she just said that she had a nightmare and exchanged a quick glance with Carol. When Daryl got up to get more food, Rachel was standing at the counter with her back facing him. He went to it anyway and just as he got there, she noticed his presence and moved away. Then Andrea and Dale started slamming Jenner with questions and after breakfast he showed everyone how one turns into a walker. After that, it became clear that the whole world had gone down and not just America. That's when Dale questioned Jenner about the big digital clock that was hanging on the wall. Jenner told him that it was counting down to when the generators run out of fuel, causing facility-wide decontamination.

Rick, Glenn, Clyde and Shane instantly grabbed a few torches and went down the basement to see for themselves, while everybody else went back to their bedrooms. Sure enough, Jenner was telling the truth and after a few minutes, the air conditioning went off and the lights got dimmer. Everyone went out into the hallway to see what was going on. Jenner suddenly appeared and led everybody back to the main lab, where they met up with Rick, Clyde, Glenn and Shane again. Rick started asking Jenner more questions until everything became clear; the building was about to self-destruct.

"Everyone grab your things. We're gettin' outta this NOW!" Rick demanded. The group obeyed and got everything they needed before going back to the lab, where Rick and Shane were trying to get more answers.

Then the doors shut and all hell broke loose. Adrenaline shot through each and every person and they all started panicking.

"'Ey! You motherfucker! Open the fuckin' door!" Clyde demanded violently and tried to attack Jenner. Shane and Daryl held him back while Rick tried to convince him to open the door. It was no use. They were running out of time and Jenner refused to open up. Every once in a while Daryl or Clyde would try and hurt Jenner but got pulled back by T and Shane.

Rachel started accepting her fate and just sat down. She didn't say a word to anybody. Soon, Andrea, Lori, Carol, Carl and Sophia joined her. The men even tried using axes to break their way out. Daryl turned around and spotted Rach sitting down, looking down at her belly and whispering words to herself. Despite everything that happened, Daryl knew that he couldn't let things end like that. He couldn't just let her or the baby die without even giving it a chance. They were going to get out, even if he had to tear the door down with his bare hands. He never gave up. After a while, he was the only one who was actually still trying to get out.

That was until Rick managed to convince Jenner. To everyone's relief, the large metal door opened up and everyone grabbed their things - everyone except Jacquie and Andrea. Turns out they wanted to take the easy way out. Dale stayed behind to try to get them to come and told everyone to just go on so long.

The only problem now was getting out of the actual building, since Jenner couldn't open the front doors. After trying several tactics to get the window open, Carol handed Rick a hand grenade. He told everyone to get down as he pulled the plug and before they knew it, the glass popped right out the window frame. Then time went immensely slow for Rachel. Just as she got up to run, Clyde stepped in front of her with a twisted grin on his face.

"You've been a bad girl, Rachel. You don't deserve to come out," he hissed and gave her one last blow to the face before getting out. Rachel was on the floor now, once again gripping her bloody nose. She watched defenselessly as everybody got out, obviously not noticing that she got left behind. She tried getting up, but fell back down. This time, she couldn't fight it.

"Rach?!" a familiar voice called out. She looked at the window and saw Daryl coming towards her. Without hesitation, he scooped her up bridal style and made his way out of the building with Dale and Andrea right on his tail.

"GET DOWN!" Glenn shouted at the four. They instantly obeyed and Daryl put Rachel down behind a wall of sandbags the military had left behind. They could all feel the temperature of the air rise, followed by the sound of the CDC crumbling to the ground. It looked like a child kicking down their sand castle. Once it was done, Rachel looked up at Daryl whose face was covered in dust. He looked back down at her and nodded once before standing up and casually walking to his car. Rachel looked at the RV and saw Clyde's cruel face glaring down at her. She stood up and instead of getting into the RV; she followed Daryl to his car and got in beside him. He didn't argue with her. He simply looked at her once more before starting up his blue truck and following  
the RV to heaven knows where.


	9. Chapter 9

Hey guys!

So firstly, I'd just like to thank you all for following, favoring and reviewing my story! It really makes my day!

Secondly, I'd like to apologize for any spelling errors. This website has been giving me crap lately, but also sometimes when I proofread, I tend to oversee things.

Lastly, please tell me what you think about Rachel! And do you like the way I'm portraying Daryl?

Oh, and one last thing:

What gender do you want the baby to be? And do you have any suggestions? I suck at making up names, and if you've read my other stories, you may have noticed that I tend to use names that belong to video game characters (Rachel is from Resident Evil Revelations, Ellie is from The Last Of Us and Claire is from Resident Evil, too).

I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's a bit long, but anyway!

* * *

After a day or two of just driving, the gang came to a stop because the road was blocked off by cars and the RV's radiator hose broke. It was decided that they would break into two gender-based groups:

The woman would loot the cars and the men would move the cars out of the way so they could pass.

At first, Lori wasn't happy about the arrangements because she felt uncomfortable, but the rest of the group just sucked it up and got to work. Dale suggested that Rachel stayed on top of the RV with him just to be safe and Rick immediately agreed. Lori asked her to keep an eye on Carl and Sophia and she gladly did it. Dale even let her sit on his camping chair underneath the umbrella to keep cool. Personally, Rachel thought everyone was overreacting, but she didn't want start any arguments. Andrea started feeling sick after looting one car, so she decided to stay inside the RV. Rick and Dale who were equipped with a rifle and a pair of binoculars were on watch. Shane, Clyde and Glenn were trying to find parts for the RV while T and Daryl were trying to get some gas.

Rachel looked around carefully, trying to spot any irregular activity and when she did, she notified Dale immediately. He looked through his binoculars and alerted Rick, who was standing down below. Then, to her complete and utter horror, Rachel saw even more geeks and so did Rick and Dale. Rick immediately instructed them to get down before he ran around to inform the others. Rachel and Dale looked at each other, trying to keep calm, but it's hard not to completely loose it when you can feel them walking into the RV and hear their vicious growls.

Not long after that, Rachel and Dale abruptly heard the sound of Andrea crying and trying her best not to scream. Rachel crawled over to the RV's vent and saw Andrea sitting on the bathroom floor, trying to block a walker from getting inside the bathroom. Rachel could also see that she was unequipped and without hesitation, she handed Andrea her switchblade and watched her take down the walker.

Just when everybody thought the herd had completely passed, Sophia, who was hiding underneath a car, stuck her head out to see. Apparently, not all of the walkers had passed and the two geeks spotted her instantly. The only thing Sophia could think of was running away and that's exactly what she did. Soon, she disappeared into the woods with Rick right on her tail. Everyone crowded around where she left, waiting to see her blond head and Rick's rifle again.

They saw Rick and his rifle, but not Sophia. Shane, Glenn, Daryl and Rick went back into the forest to look for her, but it was no use. Soon Shane and Glenn came back to keep everyone occupied while Daryl and Rick continued their search. They spent the rest of the afternoon doing that and when Rick and Daryl came back, everyone gathered around for some answers.

One thing led to another and Carol had no other choice but to blame Rick for everything. Shane and Daryl defended him, but she didn't want to hear it and eventually Rick just wandered off.

"One less mouth to feed, I guess," Clyde commented. Everyone looked at him, shocked at what he just said. Daryl, who was already infuriated because of what he did at the CDC, finally took the initiative and punched Clyde in the face.

"You son of a bitch!" Daryl spat and held him up by his collar. "We still haven't discussed whatcha did at the CDC," he hissed.

Clyde laughed. "Oh c'mon! I was only playin'. Ain't my fault the bitch can't take a damn joke!" he remarked and looked at Rachel, who was frowning.

"Is my life a joke? Does this baby mean anything to you? You left me for dead!" she yelled at him. Daryl tightened his grip.

"He don't care 'bout anything but his damn self. It's been like that for a long time," Daryl said through his clenched teeth.

Clyde held up hands in defeat mockingly. "'Ey, I didn't ask fo' no baby. Ain't my problem if the bitch fell pregnant."

Daryl didn't want to hear anymore and punched him two more times until he fell to the ground. Daryl threw in a few kicks before Shane pulled him off.

Clyde clutched his face and shot Daryl and Rachel scowls. "I know you two have been fuckin' at night. Ohh yeah I do. Ed told me; bless 'is soul," he told them.

Daryl stepped in front of Rachel protectively and looked down at Clyde before spitting at the ground next to him. "I wouldn't have to fuck 'er if you just did your damn job," he growled and walked away. Rachel looked down at him and shook her head before following Daryl to his pickup truck. He informed her that she'd be spending the night in the RV with Andrea, Dale and Glenn because there were proper beds in the RV and she needed the comfort. He was going to be on watch with Shane to make sure Clyde didn't go near her or any of the other women. They even discussed kicking him out of the group, were worried about him following them.

The next day the group continued their search for Sophia. Initially, Rachel wanted to tag along, but Daryl refused to let her come along. He knew that she was due any day now and the last thing they needed was for her to pop the baby out in the middle of the walker-infested woods. She argued at first, but soon got to see where he was getting at. She decided to take a well-deserved nap while Dale and T spoke about a bunch of strange things.

When she woke up, she decided to reorganize the RV and clean up the blood from Andrea's walker attack. It wasn't long after that when the group came back to the highway. The first thought that went through T, Dale and Rachel's minds was where the hell are Lori, Carl, Shane and Rick? Dale was the first to question them and Daryl and Glenn explained to them that Carl had been shot and was taken to a nearby farm by Rick and Shane. Moreover, a girl on a horse appeared out of nowhere and whisked Lori away to the farm.

Glenn also mentioned that the mysterious girl gave them the farm's address and that she invited everyone to stay with them for a while. Carol refused to leave without Sophia and Daryl volunteered to stay behind just in case she showed up. Andrea and Dale said that they'd stay too, and just before Rachel could volunteer too, Daryl instructed Glenn to take her to the farm along with T-Dog, who had a serious infection because of the cut. Rachel didn't argue. She knew that she didn't stand a chance against Daryl.

As for Clyde, Daryl made sure that he stayed, too. He refused to let him go near the baby if he wasn't around to keep a close eye on him. Clyde obviously protested, but ultimately lost to Daryl.

With that in place, Glenn and Rachel loaded Carol's Cherokee with their things and left with a blood-covered T-Dog. They only arrived at the farm at night because Glenn couldn't find the place. When they finally found the farm, they parked a few feet away from the huge farmhouse. T and Glenn had a small argument about whether or not they should knock or just walk in, but when they got to the porch, a soft voice startled them both.

"You close the gate when you drove in?" it asked. All three of them looked to the right and saw a girl sitting on a chair with her knees pulled up to her chest. She had short brown hair and green eyes. They assumed that she was about 20 years old or so. She was wearing blue jeans and brown cowboy boots with a white floral flannel shirt.

Glenn looked at Rachel and T before stepping forward with a nod. "Uh, hello…_again_," he greeted her awkwardly. Rachel put two and two together and realized that she was probably the girl who brought Lori to the farm. "Yes, we locked it. It latched and everything," he confirmed and looked at Rachel and T again. "We met before…briefly," he told them. The girl stood up.

Rachel smiled at her. "Hello. We came to help out with Carl," she told her. The girl didn't say anything and just cautiously looked at T-Dog's arm. "Ain't a bite. He got cut real bad."

The girl sighed. "We'll have it looked at. I'll tell 'em you're 'ere," she said and went inside the house. Rachel, Glenn and T followed her inside and she led them to Hershel, the owner of the farm and Maggie's father, Lori, Rick and an unconscious Carl. Glenn took off his hat respectfully and Rachel walked over to give Lori a comforting hug.

"We're here, okay?" she assured the mother. Lori thanked them and Maggie led T-Dog to the dining room, where another woman fixed up his arm. Rachel and the girl, who introduced herself as Maggie, engaged in small conversation about the baby. Rachel told her that she was due any day and that she was worried about how the baby would risk everyone's life when crying. Maggie assured her that everything would be fine and the two bonded very quickly. Maggie fixed them all something to eat and when they were done, Shane, who had gone to a nearby school to look for medical supplies with Otis, the man who shot Carl, came back but without Otis. Apparently, Otis sacrificed himself to save Shane and Carl. Hershel instructed them not to say anything to Patricia who was the wife of Otis, until after Carl's operation. Maggie and Hershel let Rachel sleep in of the guest bedrooms for the night while T-Dog took the couch.

…

The next morning Maggie and her younger sister, Beth fixed Rachel, T and Glenn some breakfast and while they were eating the rattling sound of a motorcycle was heard, along with the RV and another car. The group immediately finished breakfast and went outside to welcome the rest of the group. To everyone's dismay, there was no sign of Sophia. Rick and Lori filled the others in on Carl's progress. He was going to live.

Hershel and his family also invited everyone to join them for a short funeral for Otis and Shane gave an ear-tearing story about how Otis's death had meaning and what his last minutes were like. The Greene's were grateful and after everyone placed a rock on the memorial, the group set up a next temporary camp until Carl recovered. Once that was done, Daryl, Rick, Shane, Andrea and a reluctant Clyde made more plans for Sophia's search. Daryl and Clyde were the only eligible ones to go, considering Shane had an injured ankle from the previous night and Rick had given more units of blood than he was supposed to.

Maggie and Glenn decided to go to the local pharmacy for more supplies, but only after they helped deal with an extremely horrifying problem:

There was a walker stuck in one of the wells.

It was quite the mission to get it out. They decided not to shoot it, in case the water wasn't contaminated. The best plan they came up with was to pull it out with rope, but for that to be done, the needed something to lure it into the rope. _They needed bait_. They first tried canned ham, but it had absolutely no effect. Then somebody came up with the genius plan that included live meat, aka Glenn. Everyone looked at him when the idea was mentioned. He obviously wasn't too keen, but knew that somebody needed to get the job done and fast. Before he knew it, the rope was tied around him like a harness and he was slowly lured in by T, Dale, Rachel, Shane, Lori and Andrea, while Maggie, who wasn't too thrilled either, kept an eye on Glenn and the walker.

The plan seemed to be going well, until the water pump that the rope was hooked onto, completely broke off, sending everyone flying. Glenn's screams quickly echoed and everyone hurried back on their feet to save the Asian from ultimately dying. Once he came back up, he was nearly out of breath.

Dale sighed and looked back at the well. "Back to the drawing board," he said, disappointed that the plan failed - or so he thought.

Glenn got up with a cocky grin on his face and handed the old man the rope, "says you," he smirked and walked off with Maggie on his tail. The group looked back into the well and to their surprise, saw that Glenn did exactly what was expected of him. Soon, Maggie and Glenn came back with a horse to help them pull the geek out. They got back into formation, but this time with both Maggie and Glenn's assistance. They pulled and pulled until the reeking smell hit everybody like someone had hit all of them with a baseball bat.

The walker was fat and wrinkly because of obvious factors. Its skin was shiny and its head was bald. Rachel was tempted to drop the rope to cover her nose, but persevered along with everyone else. Unfortunately, not everything went according to plan and within seconds, the geek snapped into two and its bloody torso went flying back into the well.

Next up was plan B, which was of course, sealing the damn well for good.

…

Rachel was sitting in her tent, pondering, when someone barged in. Her head shot up, erasing her trace of thought as she caught a glimpse of who it was. When she realized, her lips curled into a small smile and got even bigger when she saw what he was holding.

It was only Daryl. He had obviously come back from his search and decided to pay Rachel a visit. On his shoulder, hung his beloved crossbow because his hands were too occupied; he was holding a shiny green baby carrier with cute little dinosaurs printed on the seat. The handle and seatbelt were plastic and the seat looked soft. She stood up from where she was sitting and her face lit up with excitement. Daryl couldn't help but smile a bit. He was relieved that she liked it, although he didn't pick it out.

He had bumped into Glenn when coming back and the Asian told him to follow him to his tent, where Maggie was casually standing with a smile on her face, too. Maggie reached for the carrier and handed it to him proudly. Daryl inspected the object before looking back the farmer's daughter.

"What am I s'posed to do with this?" he asked. _How did they know that he was the real father? _

Glenn stepped next to Maggie and looked at the confused redneck. "We just wanted to ask you if you think she'd like it. I know you're a good friend of hers, so…" he explained. It made more sense to Daryl now.

"Oh. Uh…I dunno. Guess we'll find out. Want me to give it to 'er?" he asked, eying the strange contraption. Glenn looked at Maggie, who gave him a nod of approval. Daryl swung his crossbow over his shoulder and snatched the carrier up. As he walked, he looked at it again and smiled to himself. He wasn't planning on telling anyone, but he personally liked what they had picked out. He'd always like dinosaurs, and now so will his child.

Back to the moment, he was thrilled that Rachel liked it and carefully placed it in front of her. She bent over and looked at it once more before looking back at Daryl.

"Thank you. It's the cutest thing ever!" she said, honestly grateful. He nodded and she looked down at it again.

Daryl cleared his throat and focused his attention on the strap of his crossbow before speaking. Her eyes darted towards him, awaiting his speech. "'Bout wha' happened at the CDC that night," he sighed, "You didn't deserve that and I'm sorry. I guess I was bein' an asshole like always."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "You're not an asshole…most of the time. But you were right; I am a 'dumb whore', but what the hell did I do?."

He found himself stepping forward, inching closer to her body. He hesitated, but sighed. "You didn't do anything, Rach. I swear," he lied. He didn't want to stress her out. "I guess the whole Merle thing was gettin' to me."

She looked at him and took a deep breath. "You promise?" she asked. He nodded. "Alright. But if I ever do something that makes you mad, you don't hesitate to tell me, alright? Even if I break down and cry," she told him. He nodded again. "Thank you for everything, Daryl. For standin' by me through all of this. For comin' for me. For stickin' up for me," she stepped closer, "I know that you've done so much already, but could answer somethin' for me?" He looked at her, waiting for the question. "You do want this baby?"

His face dropped. He tried searching for something to say, but it was like the words disappeared into thin air. His cheeks heated up as he looked at her, completely lost for words. Rachel on the other hand, bit her lip. She stood there silently, awaiting an answer. Finally, Daryl found the lost words and spoke up.

"Not originally," his voice broke the layer of silence that filled the tent. She bowed her head, disappointed at his answer. "But yes," he said. She looked up again. "I'm scared as hell but yes, I do want this."

Another smile crawled onto her face. She wiped a single tear away from her eye and nodded. "I'm scared, too," she admitted. One thing led to another and soon, she was caught in his warm embrace. He rested his chin on her head as she closed her eyes, savoring the precious moment.

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If missed my AN at the beginning, please go back and read it. :D


	10. Chapter 10

To that reviewer who said that my story is '5 out f 10', I'm sorry you feel that way. Maybe this chapter will change your mind? Sorry.

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In the morning, Rachel woke up later than usual. She'd been sleeping in her own tent lately, so Daryl wasn't there to wake her up. She stretched, groaned and yawned, before finally deciding to get up and get dressed. After all, she didn't have the luxury of sleeping in. No one did anymore. After struggling to get up smoothly, she finally stood up and stretched again. She pulled her pajamas off and slipped into a pair of blue jeans, a sleeveless, blue and green maternity shirt and her brown hiking boots. She wasn't surprised to see that everybody had finished having breakfast. She spotted Lori and Carol during the laundry and decided to help them.

"Mornin' sleepyhead!" Lori joked. Carol shot Rachel a warm smile.

Rachel smiled back and grabbed a shirt from the basket of wet clothes. "Mornin'. Sorry for sleepin' in," she apologized and hung the garment up on the line. Lori and Carol shook it off and filled Rachel in on Carol's idea. She wanted to cook dinner for Hershel and his family for two reasons; to say thanks and to get her mind off the whole Sophia incident.

As much as Rachel cared about Carol, something really started irritating her:

Carol never made any effort to find her own daughter and had the nerve to hold Rick responsible. Hell, if Rachel had it her way, she would've been out there right then, searching for the girl herself. One thing was for sure, though; if her child went missing, she wouldn't be caught dead sitting on her arse, doing nothing. Rachel tried to ignore the flaw and nodded in agreement.

Besides, when was the last time she had a proper meal? She wasn't about to say no to roast chicken. She agreed and Lori said that she'd extend the invitation. The three of them continued hanging up things silently, each lost in their own thoughts. It was then when a thought crossed Rachel's mind and left her standing dead in her tracks. _What was going to happen when her water broke? Where was she going to give birth? What if something went wrong? What if the baby died? What if she died? What if they had to do caesarean section? _She stood dead still, dreading and fearing her thoughts. Lori nudged Carol in the interim and they both noticed Rachel's sudden change in mood.

"Rachel?" Carol's voice broke her thoughts. Rachel snapped out of it and looked at the woman, fear running through her face. "Are you…okay?" Carol asked. Lori and Carol stared at her, waiting for a response.

Rachel shook her head. "W-what if the baby's dead? What if we both die?" she panicked, her voice shaking. Carol and Lori looked at each other, then moved to either side of Rachel to comfort her. "What if you have to cut me open?" she sobbed some more.

"Oh, honey. You're gonna be fine!" Lori assured her and rubbed her back. Carol nodded in agreement and rubbed her arm. "The baby's gonna be fine and so are you. You're gonna come out laughin' at yourself for bein' so paranoid!"

Rachel sniffed. Carol let out a small laugh. "She's right. Movies tend to over-exaggerate," she added. _The poor thing._

Rachel took a deep breath and wiped her face. "I'm jus' _so terrified_," she admitted and then laughed a bit. "Look at me," she said, "I'm such a coward."

"You're not a coward," Lori argued. "We've all been there; a few days before birth we completely freak out, but as soon as you go into labor you'll forgot all of this and focus on getting the damned thing out. Trust us – we speak from experience."

"She's right," Carol agreed and smiled.

Rachel nodded and wiped her face again. "We best finish up 'ere if ya'll still wanna make lunch," Rachel uttered and got back to work. Lori and Carol followed and dropped the subject. Rachel on the other hand, tried not to think about it at all. When they were done, Rachel bumped into Daryl on the way back to her tent. She smiled at him and made sure not to mention anything about her mini-breakdown. She stuck her hands in her pockets and smiled. "Mornin'," she greeted. He cocked his head, greeting her back. She got the feeling he was going somewhere and asked him about it. He said that he was going out to look for Sophia. "Alright, well be safe," she told him. He snorted. They said their goodbyes and she watched him walk to the stables.

…

"SOPHIA!" Daryl called out; clutching her pink and white doll he just found lying on a log in the middle of the creek. No reply. Daryl pocketed the doll and climbed back up to the horse he took from Hershel's stables. He climbed on and slowly continued the search. He could tell that the horse he chose was a bit twitchy. He swore to himself that he'd take the other one next time.

Another thing that he thought about was Clyde. He'd decided to leave the maniac in the hands of Rick, Shane and T-Dog, who assured him that he wouldn't go near Rachel. He hoped they were trustworthy, or there would be big trouble. The more he thought about that, the more he thought about Rachel and the baby. He wondered whether it would be a boy or girl. If it was a boy, Daryl hoped that he wouldn't turn out like Merle or himself. He hoped that he'd end up being everything his father wasn't. He could also picture Rachel babying him until he was a teenager. Daryl allowed a small smile to form on his face until he moved on to the next thought:

If it was a girl.

If the baby was a girl, he hoped Rachel wouldn't drown her in pink, but knowing her, she probably wouldn't. If anything, the poor baby would grow up surrounded in black and dark colors, just like her mother.

Then a sickening feeling hit his stomach like a bullet. How was he going to be able to handle the baby without Clyde getting in the way? According to him, he's the real father. They could just tell him and make him get over it. After all, he only had himself to blame for his girlfriend's loneliness and misery. Then again, if they didn't tell Clyde, he'd demand to handle the baby. No one could stop him then though, because they all thought he was the read dad, too. What if he harmed the baby? Or Rachel for that matter?

Completely lost in his thoughts, Daryl didn't notice the snake on the ground, but the horse in fact did. Within a few seconds, Daryl and his crossbow went flying and rolled down the side of the creek while the nervous horse scampered off into the woods. As painful as the fall was, nothing could compare to the pain in his side. After cussing to himself, he lifted his head to see what was hurting him and nearly lost it when he saw his very own arrow stuck in his side. He watched the water darken as his side bled and hissed in pain. If that was how giving birth felt, he'd take off his hat to women. He lay there for a while, panting, before he crawled out of the water and onto the ground.

Daryl ripped off the sleeves of his shirt and tied them together, creating a long piece of fabric. He tied it around his waist tightly and stood up again. He looked up at where he fell and knew he was going to have to climb up again, despite the pain. He found a stable stick and used it to help him walk. Before he started climbing, however, he heard the bushes rustle and looked at it, waiting for a walker to pop out. The rustling stopped and Daryl knew that he needed to get out of there as soon as possible. He stuck his stick into the ground and slowly began climbing, but realized that he was missing his beloved weapon. He climbed down again and waddled through the knee-high water, poking the stick around to find his crossbow. Once he found it, he put it over his shoulder and went back to square one.

He used his stick and the braches that were sticking out to climb up. When he was about halfway up, he looked down and just as he looked up, met the familiar face of Clyde's.

"Don't be such a pussy," he spat and kicked Daryl, causing him to tumble all the way down again. Daryl hissed in pain as he clutched his side. The last thing he saw was Clyde's twisted smile, then everything went black.

…

Daryl's eyes slowly flickered open at the sound of somebody sharpening a knife. He looked around and as he tried to sit up, an excruciating pain shot through his body and he remembered that there was an arrow stuck in his side. He held his side and looked up, immediately locking eye contact with Clyde.

"Mornin', Sleepin' Beauty. Sleep well?" he teased with a grin. He brought a knife to his face and inspected it before looking back at Daryl. "Sorry 'bout the kick back there, bud. I, ah…didn't see ya there."

Daryl snorted. "Yeah, and the dead ain't walkin'. The hell're you doin'?" he asked and slowly sat up, rubbing his throbbing head. "C'mon, let's head back. We'll start again tomorrow."

Clyde took a deep breath and shrugged. "See, Daryl; that's the thing – I'm afraid you ain't goin' nowhere," he said, pacing and fiddling with the knife in his hand. "You ain't gonna see your precious Rachel no more. You ain't never gonna see the baby. And you ain't never gonna stop me and make me look like an idiot no more. Those days are over, my friend. Oh and that bitch – she's got it in for her," he said grimly and looked at Daryl.

"What're you talkin' 'bout, Clyde. Have you been drinkin'?" Daryl asked him and slowly got up. Clyde shifted uneasily and watched him. "Let's go-"

"NO!" Clyde yelled, cutting Daryl off. He pointed the knife at him and Daryl held his hands up. "DON'T! YOU AIN'T GOIN' NOWHERE!"

"Clyde…calm down-"

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!" Clyde demanded violently. Daryl gulped. "Say goodbye, ol' friend. You ain't never gonna fuck her again. She is mine! The baby is mine! You did this to me!"

Daryl lowered his head as he held up his hands. "Clyde, listen to me. You - you ain't thinkin' clear. Gimme the knife. Slowly," he said calmly. Clyde ignored him and charged at him. Daryl stepped aside, causing Clyde to miss and fall down to the ground. "LISTEN TO ME!" Daryl yelled at him.

He ignored him and got up, attempting to charge at him again. Daryl tried to catch him, but went down instead, with Clyde on top of him. He held the knife away from his neck and threw Clyde off of him, trying to ignore the agonizing pain in his side. With Clyde down, Daryl started crawling towards his crossbow, which was a few feet away. Meanwhile, Clyde got up and made his way towards a crawling Daryl. Daryl turned around and his hands fearfully searched for something to use as a weapon. When he couldn't find anything, the only thing he could think of was the arrow that was in his side and just as Clyde jumped on him, he managed to rip the arrow out and pierce the man he once called his best friend.

Shocked, Daryl pushed Clyde off once again and sat up, looking down at the bleeding Clyde. Daryl had penetrated Clyde in the stomach unintentionally. Clyde lay there, clutching his stomach and the arrow as blood poured out his mouth. Daryl slowly stood up and looked down at him.

"Jus' thought you'd wanna know," he said and clutched his bleeding side, "the baby's mine." Clyde started gagging and coughing until he was completely still. Daryl kneeled down next to his former friend's dead body and bowed his head. "Should've jus' left 'er alone, Clyde. Should've just left her alone."

…

"So anyway, that's how Rick and got together," Lori was telling everybody as they prepared dinner for Hershel and his family. Patricia, Beth and Maggie were helping them, even though Rachel, Lori and Carol wanted to be a treat from them. The kitchen went silent for a few minutes while everybody did what they were supposed to.

Eventually, Maggie broke the silence. "You know, I don't even know-"

BOOM!

All of them stopped dead in their tracks and stared at each other.

"NOOO!" Rick's voice projected from the other side of the field. Lori was the first to drop everything and run outside, followed by Maggie, Patricia, Beth and a waddling Rachel. They stormed out of the house and met Hershel and Jimmy outside to see what the hell was going on. Rachel, who wasn't expecting much to happen, narrowed her eyes to see what or who Shane and Rick were carrying. She watched them come closer and waited to get a better view of the mysterious thing.

Then, as they got closer, to her complete, utter horror and dismay, she recognized who they were carrying; they were carrying Daryl. Rachel held her stomach as she waddled over to them, unaware of the tears that escaped her eyes without knowing it. As she got closer, her tears multiplied and she began to sob. "DARYL?!" she called out and moved faster. Glenn quickly ran to her and held her back. "DARYL!" she screamed over and over. "WHO SHOT HIM?!" she demanded. Nobody said anything. "WHO THE FUCK KILLED HIM?!" she repeated herself. Again, nobody uttered a single word, except Rick, who told her that he wasn't dead. She broke free from Glenn's grip and ran up to them, holding the bloody Daryl as they walked. Hershel directed them to the guest bedroom in the house. Everyone left him alone after that, except Rachel, who sat at beside him the entire time with her head bowed and a tissue scrunched up in her hand.

"Aw, shit!"

She raised her head and opened her eyes, immediately looking down at the awakening redneck. He was clutching his head and side. Rachel wiped her face and called Hershel. With him came Rick and Shane who questioned Daryl.

"C-Clyde! Aw man!" he suddenly remembered and looked at Rachel. "He followed me and tried to kill me. I-I didn't mean to. He said he was gonna…"

Rick narrowed his eyes. "What are you sayin'? Where is Clyde?" he asked, a bit concerned. There was a moment of silence. Rick and Shane exchanged looks and nodded. Rachel's jaw dropped and she backed away.

"I killed 'im."

Rachel's green eyes widened as she processed everything. She didn't know how she felt; a part of her was horrified, but another felt relieved and thankful that she didn't have to be afraid anymore. She stood up and excused herself. She went outside and stood on the porch, thinking about it and remembering Clyde's last few days. She also thought about when she met him and how 'in love' she was for a few months. Then something clicked and he hit her for the first time. After that, the beatings became a daily thing - almost routine. Her fists clenched as she thought about the beatings and how she would never be subject to them anymore. She thought about her child and how it would never meet the monster. It would never have to witness what she did and she thanked God.

There weren't any tears left for Clyde, although to pay her respects, she had a moment of silence to think about the few good times the two of them had. Those thoughts lead to Daryl and the fact that he killed his _best _friend for her and the baby. She thought about the sacrifices he was willing to make and the fact that he put so much effort into finding Sophia.

That made her cry.

She sat down and sobbed silently for a few seconds before composing herself. For once, she wasn't afraid because the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders.

She got up and went back inside. Hershel had finished fixing Daryl's wounds up and he was alone in the room. She knocked on the door and he beckoned her to enter. She obeyed and stood beside him.

"You okay?" she asked. He simply nodded, not even looking at her. She sighed and looked down at her belly. "What you did today…," she said and took a deep breath. He looked at her and narrowed his slate-blue eyes, waiting for her to finish off her sentence. "Thank you, Daryl."

He stared at her blankly before slowly nodding.

"You were willin' to do that for us?" her voice croaked as she tried to prevent herself from crying again.

He lifted his head. "He didn't give me a choice. Besides, if he was still around with the baby, on God knows what could've happened."

She nodded, tears falling again. "I know. And I've been fearin' that since I found out that I was pregnant. I was gonna have an abortion, Daryl," she admitted. His face dropped. "So I'm standin' in the line at the hospital all by myself, ready to get it taken out and I see this li'l boy with the bluest eyes and this chocolate-brown hair lookin' up at me, smilin', and I thought of you and all of a sudden I couldn't believe that I was standin' there in the first place," she wiped her face, "then I thought 'bout _him _and the life our child could've had; scared, beaten and cryin' because of 'im. Right now – and please, God, forgive me, you don't know how relieved I am that I don't gotta worry 'bout that anymore. And maybe I'm a monster for sayin' this, but thank you for doin' it. Thank you,' she told him and sniffed.

His head flopped back onto the pillow and he stayed like that for a few minutes until moving over. He pulled the covers up, motioning for her to lie down. She smiled slightly and got into bed with him – something that she'd missed dearly.

"You should rest," was all he said. She moved on her side and he draped his arm around her waist, burying his head in her hair. Both of them closed their eyes and without knowing it, both smiled before drifting off.

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What do you think? I'm sorry if that seemed a bit bleh. I don't really know how to do character deaths properly.


	11. Chapter 11

Hey people! New chapter up, yay!

Just wanted to say thanks for favoriting/following and reviewing. It really means a lot to me.

Also, I'm finally going to proofread the ENTIRE story so far because I've been reading it and I've noticed a ridiculous amount of errors. So sorry.

Lastly, thanks for the baby names! I got so many good ideas from you guys! Although, I still don't know what gender it's going to be. Sigh. Guess I'll have to decide.

So enough blabbering. Oh wait...

Just so we're clear on this, I don't own the Walking Dead. I wish I did, but alas; I don't.

Okay. Sorry for the errors in this chapter.

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**_Two days later_**

"AHHH!"

"Rach?"

"OH GOD! OH MY FUCKIN' GOD!" she screamed, clutching her stomach and panting. She was sitting up, on the blow-up mattress, holding her stomach with one hand and gripping the sheets with the other. "I-I think it's time," she breathed and looked at Daryl, who sat up, too.

His eyes widened. "Wha'?" he asked, too shocked to process anything.

She stopped panting and smiled. "Gotcha!" she said and roared with laughter. "You should've seen your face," she joked and copied his facial expression.

Daryl sighed irritably. "Jesus, woman!" he barked. "The hell did you do that for?"

Rachel flopped back down onto the mattress and held her belly. "You are so gullible, Daryl," she joked and closed her eyes. Daryl collapsed back and rolled over, back facing Rachel. He closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep. She rolled over too and realized how Clyde's death had already changed him. She thought that had she never started working at Jackson's, the two would still be best friends. Or even if she didn't go out with Clyde in the first place, none of that would've happened. "Daryl?" she whispered. He didn't reply. She sighed. "We gotta talk 'bout a few things."

"What?" he hissed, overpowering her soft voice.

She sighed. "Forget it," she mumbled and moved further away from him. She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep. What was his problem? Maybe she struck something with her prank. She pulled the blanket over her shoulders and rested her hand on her belly.

Daryl opened his eyes after realizing that he had slightly hurt her and took a deep breath. He lifted his head and looked back at her. She seemed so far away. He turned around completely inched closer to her body. Rachel could feel the hair on her neck rising and her butterflies flew right through her from her head to her toes. She didn't turn around; instead, she just remained completely still. He lifted his hand and stroked her head. A small breath escaped her mouth. His hand traveled from her hair all the way to her chin and he lifted her head up. "I'm sorry."

She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Whatever."

Their lips moved in closer and smacked against each other as he held her face. She intertwined her fingers with his hair and lightly tugged. He moved one of his hands to her waist and rubbed her belly with the other. "Go to sleep," he told her. She nodded and turned her body to face Daryl. He moved closer to her and put his head above his, resting his chin on her forehead. They both closed their eyes and her fingers looked for his. She held his hand and intertwined their fingers. The rest of the night was history.

In the morning before breakfast, Shane and Rick spoke to Daryl about Clyde's death. Daryl questioned them about the consequences, but they said that they'd talked about it and decided not to give him any. They knew as well as he did what kind of man Clyde was. _Cold and selfish. _Sooner or later, he would've got somebody killed and they all knew it. Rick and Shane admitted that they were even considering kicking him out of the group at one point, but decided to postpone their choice. They knew that Daryl was only protecting himself and ultimately Rachel, too. Daryl even confessed that he was the real father in the first place.

"There was a night," he said. "Forget it. You don't gotta know that. Point is the baby's mine."

Shane and Rick exchanged looks and looked back at Daryl. "We can't prove that, Daryl. But if you know what the truth is, stick to it," Rick advised. "We tell everybody that it was an accident. The last thing we need is them being scared."

Daryl nodded, thanking him and they went to breakfast. Rick volunteered to break the news and it people were shocked. They had a moment of silence for him and Dale suggested that they have a short memorial later. The group agreed. That was when Glenn thought that it would be a great idea to tell everybody that there were walkers in the barn. They all stopped eating and looked at him with stunned expressions. Rick and Shane got up immediately and went to the barn to see it for themselves, followed by everyone else. Daryl instructed Rachel to stay back in case anything got out. She obeyed and watched from a distance with Carl, who was instructed to stay back, too. Shane went right up to the barn and peeked through a creek. Once he saw what he needed to, he turned around and demanded that they kill the walkers. When his idea was shot down, he brought up something else.

"…C'mon; we've been talkin' 'bout Fort Benning-" Shane brought up his suggestion again.

Rick quickly cut him off by shaking his head. "We can't leave," he said firmly.

"Why not?" Shane asked impatiently and looked at his friend.

Carol stepped forward and frowned. "Because my daughter's still out there," she reminded him. Lori put her hand on the woman's shoulder, letting her acknowledge her support and agreement.

Shane let out a humorless laugh and rolled his eyes. "Carol, I think it's time we all consider the other possibilities-" he said, causing a big uproar. _How could he? _Shane was changing. Everybody could feel it. A few months ago, they looked up to him but now they were hesitant. Most – if not all, looked to Rick now. He'd gotten them that far and they owed it to him. Rick willingly took on the role of being the leader, but he always considered Shane's opinion before making a final decision on anything.

Daryl walked forward and glowered at Shane, pointing at Rachel. "Because Rachel's 'bout to give birth an' we need Hershel. Plus we're close to findin' this li'l gilr; I jus' found her damn doll!" he growled. There was no doubt that he was getting incredibly annoyed and a bit betrayed, especially after everything he did.

Shane laughed again. "You found her doll, Daryl." The tone in his voice suggested that he was trying to intimidate Daryl, which obviously didn't have a good ending.

Daryl's glower became tighter as he stepped forward, throwing his arm in the air. "You don' know what the hell you're talkin' 'bout!" he yelled. Rachel moved forward just in case she needed to break things up. She noticed that Lori did the same to Shane.

"Hey look. I'm just sayin' what needs to be said. And lemme tell you something else; if she saw you comin' in the woods with your geek ears and your buck knife, she would run in the other direction, man!" Shane mocked the redneck.

Daryl decided that he'd heard enough and charged at Shane. Lori and Rachel decided to step in at that moment and break things up before it got violent. Rachel grabbed a fist full of Daryl's shirt and pushed him back. He took a deep breath and looked down at her, almost apologizing with his eyes. She nodded once and as she let go of his shirt, she lightly patted his chest. Once he calmed down, the two turned to look back at Shane, who was calmed down by Lori and Rick. After a few moments of bickering, Dale told everyone that Hershel saw the walkers as being 'sick', opposed to dead.

"…Rick, that man's crazy! If he thinks-" Shane was yelling, but got cut off by the barn door, which was rattling. Everyone stepped back. Rick hesitated, then instructed everyone to casually go back to camp to finish breakfast. After that, Daryl insisted on going out to look for Sophia, despite his injuries. When Rachel heard this from Lori, she immediately went to the stables to stop him. It wasn't that she wanted him to give up; it was simply because she knew that he was incapable of going without getting hurt even more.

"Daryl!" she called out, clutching her belly. He was saddling on of Hershel's horses when she found him.

He didn't look at her. "Hmm?" he groaned, recognizing her presence.

She stepped forward and closed her eyes, preparing to be chewed out by him. "I, uh," she sighed, "I don't think this is a good idea."

He ignored her. That's when Carol walked in, too. "You can't!" she cried out. Rachel and Daryl looked at her. "Hershel said you needed to heal."

Daryl sighed. "Don't care."

"Well we do," Carol went on. Daryl continued to saddle the brown horse. "Rick's goin' out to follow the trail," she informed him.

"Well I ain't gonna sit around an' do nothin'."

Rachel folded her arms and frowned. "No, you're gonna go out there an' getcha self hurt even more," sh argued. Daryl ignored her.

"We don't know if we're ever gonna find her," Carol blurted out. Rachel and Daryl looked at her with shocked expressions. _How could she be so negative? _Carol looked at Rachel, then at Daryl and shrugged. "We don't…_I don't."_

Daryl stepped forward, holding the saddle. "Wha'?" he said, shocked.

Carol sighed as tears started running down her small face. "Can't lose you, too. And plus if Rachel gives birth, we'll need you."

Daryl frowned and glanced at Rachel. _What did she have anything to do with the situation?_ He took a deep breath and walked past them. There was a saddle on a saddle bench nearby and he tried to throw it off. He hissed in pain and held his side. Rachel and Carol immediately rushed to his side, but he pushed them away. "Jus' leave me be!" he barked and walked out. "Stupid bitch," he mumbled under his breath. Rachel gently patted Carol on the back as they watched him go.

"'Ey, don't worry 'bout it. He'll come around," Rachel comforted her. Carol wiped her face and nodded before going to her tent and leaving Rachel by herself. Rachel took a deep breath and decided to go and talk to Daryl about the big blow out because she didn't think it was okay to blow up like that. She found him in his tent, lying down with his back facing the tent entrance. She let out a small humorless laugh and put her hands on her hips. "The hell was that?" she asked him. He didn't look at her or answer. She walked over to him and sat down in front of him, forcing him to look at her. "Rick said that he was gonna go out today."That wasn't like you."

Daryl sat up and frowned. "Wha' do you know 'bout me?! I'll do an' say wha' I damn well please. Ain't need your or some stupid bitch's permission!" he spat.

She narrowed her eyes. "So tha's it, huh? Wha' if we letcha go? Wha' if somethin' happened?" she asked him.

"So wh's that to you or 'er?!"

She sighed. "You'd go out there, battered an' bruised an' die instead of meetin' your own damn child?" she asked. He went silent. _He'd never thought about it like that._ "Wha' 'bout me? I don't know how this is gonna work, but if anything happened to you…" she stopped talking and took a deep breath. "Did you feel anything _that _night?" she enquired, "do you feel anything now?' her voice croaked. He didn't say anything. She stood up and went to the door. She turned around and looked at him.

"I don't know how we're gonna do this, Daryl. I am scared out of my mind," she whispered and left, leaving him to his thoughts. She went up to the farmhouse to see how Carl was doing. She was ecstatic to find that he was back on his feet. He was playing checkers with Beth, Hershel's youngest daughter. He was also wearing Rick's sheriff hat. "Well well well! Look who we have over 'ere!" she said excitedly with a smile across her face. He stood up and flicked his hat up proudly. She walked over to him and hugged him lightly. "You've gotten taller!" she said, then pointed at his shirt. "You got somethin' over there," she informed him. He looked down and she took her finger and flicked his face, followed by laughter.

He sighed and went back to playing checkers. She asked him where Lori was and he told her that she was inside the house. Rachel followed his directions found her in the kitchen, preparing lunch. Rachel helped her and after a while, Maggie joined them. The three spent an hour or so just on talking and making food. They spoke about relationships and their high school lives. Maggie also asked them a few things about Glenn and they told her everything they knew about him. After some time, the three started hearing a few muffled voices from outside. It appeared to be the voices of Shane, Daryl, Glenn and Andrea. Lori went outside as soon as she heard Carl's voice. Maggie and Rachel followed her.

"What is this?" Lori asked as she walked over to Carl. Everyone had shotguns it seemed and Shane was trying to give Carl a revolver to protect Lori. She immediately intervened by stepping in front of her son and telling Shane to back off.

Before Shane could say or do anything to convince her, T-Dog stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh shit!" he exclaimed. Everybody stopped and looked at him. Then they saw it:

Rick, Jimmy and Hershel were bringing two walkers to the farm. Shocked and horrified, Shane ran towards them angrily yelling. Everyone else followed, except Rachel, who walked her fastest. As she got closer to the walkers and everybody else, she started getting nervous. The two geeks were attached to sticks and were being driven by Hershel and Rick. Shane was demanding some answers and Rick tried to calm him down.

"THESE THINGS AIN'T SICK!" Shane shouted at Hershel. "THEY'RE NOT PEOPLE! THEY'RE DEAD! AIN'T GOTTA FEEL ANYTHING FOR THEM 'COS THEY'RE DEAD! THESE THINGS RIGHT HERE!" He pointed at the walkers.

Rick shot his friend a look as he held the stick with the walker. "SHANE STOP!" he said, but it was no use.

Shane stepped back. "Tell me somethin'," he said to Hershel and took out his handgun. "Can a livin', breathin' person live through this?" he asked and shot the walker he was holding. "That's three rounds in the chest. Could somebody who's alive live through that? WHY IS IT STILL COMIN'?!" He shot some more. "THAT'S ITS HEART AND LUNGS! WHY IS IT STILL COMIN'?!"

"SHANE, ENOUGH!" Rick demanded.

Shane walked up to the walker. "Man, you're right; this is enough," he said sarcastically and shot at the walker's head. Its lifeless body fell to the ground and so did a horrified Hershel. "ENOUGH RISKING OUR LIVES FOR A LITTLE GIRL WHO'S GONE!" Shane barked. Everybody was shocked. Those simple words shot right through Carol. "ENOUGH LIVING NEXT TO A BARN FILLED WITH WALKERS! Rick, It ain't like it was before. Now if ya'll wanna live, you gotta fight for it. RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!" with that, he ran to the barn and started opening it. Everybody started yelling at him and Rick yelled at Hershel to take the walker so that he could stop Shane, but he ignored him. Soon, walkers started emerging from the barn. Andrea, T and Daryl were forced to step up and kill them and Glenn first asked for Maggie's permission. She gave him the go-ahead as she held her silenced dad. Rachel stayed back and watched as the walkers fell down one by one like dominos.

Once all the walkers were down, everyone looked at each other. Then they heard another growl coming from the barn. They all watched and waited for the last walker to reveal itself and when it did, nobody said or did anything.

It was Sophia.

It took them a moment to process what they were seeing, and Carol was the first to break the silence by running towards her zombified daughter, calling her name and crying. Daryl dropped his shotgun and held her back while telling her not to look over and over again. Lori cradled a horror-struck Carl as they both started crying too. Rachel could feel her cheeks burning up and her eyes swelling. Nobody could believe it. Rick was the second person to do something; he stepped forward, cocking his Python and pointing it at her blond, dirty head. He took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. Everyone watched as the blue rainbow t-shirt hit the sand. Rick bowed his head in silence and holstered his gun again. There was another silent moment as everyone bowed their heads. Carol got up and ran to the RV, crying, while Beth, who was crying, too, moved forward and went to her dead mother. Rick tried to stop her but she pushed him away and sat down beside her mother, stroking her head.

"M-mom?" she sobbed. Then her mother growled and reached out to grab her. Rick, Shane and Glenn were instantly by her side, pulling her away while Andrea killed her mother again. Hershel, who had snapped out of his shock, rushed to his daughter and hugged her. After that, the Greene's went back to their house with Glenn, Rick and a furious Shane following. Shane was accusing Hershel of knowing about Sophia the entire time. When he got too close to Hershel, Maggie came to her father's defense and slapped Shane, much to Glenn's surprise. Hershel ordered Rick to get Shane away from his family and off his land and went inside. Maggie followed and so did Glenn.

Meanwhile Daryl and Rachel joined Carol in the RV to pay their respects. Daryl sat on the counter and Rachel sat opposite Carol at the table. The three sat in complete silence until Lori entered to inform them that the rest of the group was ready to have a funeral. Much to Daryl's frustration, Carol refused to go and Lori didn't argue.

Daryl glared at Carol, who was staring out the RV window. "C'mon, Rach. Le's go," he said blankly and hopped off the counter. Rachel looked at Carol and sighed before following Daryl to the graves.

* * *

Soooooo? Thoughts? Comments? Complaints? Requests? Tell me.

xx


	12. Chapter 12

Rachel bit her hair as she trotted towards the farmhouse. She kept her head down and only looked at the ground. When she got to the porch, she watched her feet step on each wooded step. She stopped biting her hair and looked up at the doorknob. She went inside and left the door to close behind her. She walked to the second guest bed-room and wasn't surprised to see that Lori and Andrea were there, too. Rachel looked at the unconscious girl lying on the bed with Maggie protectively stroking her head, whispering something or possibly praying.

Andrea and Lori stood at the foot of the bed and looked up at Rachel, who nodded once and remained standing in the doorway.

Lori excused herself and led Rachel out the room to fill her in. "Hershel's missin'," she said in a hushed tone. Rachel's face dropped. She wanted to say something, but just couldn't find the words. She let Lori continue, "Glenn and Rick went out a couple of hours ago. Will you look in on Carl for me? I'm gonna talk to Daryl," she asked. Rachel nodded. Lori placed a hand on Rachel's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze before leaving the house. Rachel took a deep breath and went back into the room.

She crouched down beside Maggie and lightly rubbed her back. "I'm sure she'll be fine," she comforted her.

Maggie shook her head. "I thought that too, but now my dad's gone," she admitted without looking at Rachel. "I just don't understand."

"Hey, Rick and Glenn are comin' back and so is he. Everything'll work out jus' fine. You'll see."

The brunette nodded. "We'll see," she shrugged.

Rachel looked at Beth, then at Andrea, who was still standing at the foot of the bed. She took a deep breath, then looked back at Maggie. "Why doncha go get somethin' to eat? I'll watch her for a while," she offered, then looked at Andrea, "both of you. I've got this."

Maggie shook her head and looked at Rachel. "I can't. What if she wakes up?"

"If that happens, I'll call you right away. But you need to eat."

Maggie took one more look at Beth then sighed. "Fine. I'll be quick," she gave in. Rachel nodded and Maggie stood up. She looked at Andrea and smiled slightly. "You must be hungry, too. C'mon," she said. Andrea smiled thankfully and the two left Rachel with Beth. Rachel sat on the armchair that was placed right beside the bed for Maggie. Patricia occasionally stuck her head in to check up on Beth. She even brought Rachel a book to read. Eventually, Maggie and Andrea returned and took over. When they returned, she excused herself to check in on Carl, just as Lori asked. She wasn't sure why she asked her to do it. Was she too busy to look after her own son? There was only so much one could do in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Perhaps she went on a walk to clear her head or something.

As she walked, she looked up to see Carl sitting underneath the large tree, writing in some kind of book. He stopped writing and looked up at her when she got closer.

"Hey," he said with a slight smile on his face.

She smiled back. "Whatcha doin'?" she asked curiously. He handed her the book and he appeared to be solving a few sums. She skimmed over it and handed it back to him. "Cool."

"Rachel?" he asked her. She looked at him, waiting for him to carry on, "What do you want your baby to be?"

She placed a finger on her chin and thought about it for a while. Come to think of it, she didn't know what she wanted it to be and frankly, she didn't mind. "Dunno," she shrugged, "guess I don't really mind."

He nodded and looked into the distance. "If it's a girl," he sighed, "could you call her Sophia?"

She frowned and took a deep breath before crouching down next to him. "Sweetie, that's a wonderful idea, but I'm not sure whether Carol would be too happy," she put him down. He bowed his head sadly and she could see that she had obviously hurt him. "But that don't mean I won't ask her," she said. He lifted his head. "Alright?" she asked. He nodded, smiling slightly. "Okay."

"And If it's a boy?" he asked. She smiled. "Could you name it Carl?"

She laughed slightly at his cockiness and nodded. "I'll check in with Daryl. I mean he's the father, so he has to have some kinda say in this, right?"

Carl's smirk died out and he had a shocked expression written in his face. "I could Clyde was the dad?"

Her face dropped, too. She closed her eyes, trying to find the right words to say to him. "He…wasn't. Daryl is. I jus' said it was Clyde's so that he didn't find out 'bout me an' Daryl," she explained and opened her eyes. "It's complicated." He nodded, understanding. There was a moment of silence. Rachel looked around and then noticed something extremely peculiar; her and Daryl's tent wasn't there anymore. She thought about it for a while spotted Dale on top of the RV, keeping watch. Maybe he knew where her things were? Maybe he knew where Daryl was? "I'll be right back," she said and got up, waddling towards the RV.

"Dale!" she called out. She grabbed his attention almost immediately grabbed his attention. He looked down at her. "Where's Daryl?" she asked.

He looked up and around, looking. Then he spotted a tent in the far distance with his binoculars and pointed to it. "I think he might be out there," he told her. She thanked him and started walking in the direction Dale pointed to. As she walked, she got angrier and angrier. How could he just take her things and move them without her permission? And why so far? Did he not have any consideration? As she got closer, she could see his motorcycle and the tent. She could see Daryl sitting on a log, making himself a few arrows.

"What the fuck?!" she asked irritably. He didn't look up at her or say anything. "Daryl? What the hell is this?" she asked him as she reached the campsite. He didn't reply. She walked up to him and with her hand, lifted his chin up so he would look at her. "Answer me, Daryl," she demanded.

He shook her hand off his face. "Wha's there to say? We're stayin' 'ere from now onwards. Gotta issue, you're welcome to take your shit," he told her bluntly.

She put her hands on her hips and frowned. "You didn't think of maybe askin' me?" He shrugged it off and went back to cleaning his arrows. She sighed. "Don't do this."

"Wha'?" he asked, still not looking up.

"Don't pull away," she said. He finally looked up at her. "I know how much findin' Sophia meant to you. You nearly –"

"You think this is 'bout that?!" he snapped, swiftly standing up. "You don't know nothin'!"

She narrowed her eyes. "I know that you cared. Don't be afraid to admit it."

He snorted humorlessly. "I ain't afraid of nothin'."

"Then why did you move away from 'em?"

He shrugged. "Jus' cos."

"_Jus' cos _why?" she asked impatiently. He didn't reply. "Clyde," she muttered. He narrowed his eyes. "Clyde never ran away from 'is problems. He always went through 'em. He never cowered away."

Daryl licked his lips and moved closer to her. "Tha's why you came crawlin' to me with your black eye? Tha's why you left me all those voice messages, huh? Cos he 'never cowered away'?" he asked her. "Why the hell doncha go live with Clyde if he's that 'mportant? Why the hell isn't he 'ere?!" he shouted getting angry. She remained silent. "WHERE THE FUCK IS HE NOW? Lemme asked you somethin'; where the fuck was he the night you came crawlin' to me? If he cared 'bout you so much, why are you carryin' _my _baby? I'll tell you why, because whenever he screwed up, I always had to pick up the pieces. You never saw me, but I was always there! Now suddenly I'm 'afraid'?!" he barked.

"Daryl, I'm-"

"What? You gonna make this 'bout my daddy or some crap like that?!" he snarled. "You don't know shit. You know, I don't even know why the hell I try, so why doncha jus' take your shit and leave? Go back to 'em if you feel better."

She bit her lip. "I –"

"Man just go. I don't want you 'ere!" He moved closer to her aggressively. "IT WASN'T MY FAULT, SO QUIT BLAMIN' ME!" he raised his hand but stopped instantly when she closed her eyes and flinched. He was speechless when he realized what he was about to do. He slowly backed away. Rachel could see how disgusted he looked. He was breathing heavily and his scowl broke. He looked scared. He turned around and grabbed his crossbow before storming into the woods.

"Daryl, wait!" she called out, but it was no use. She wiped her face and processed what just happened. Something snapped inside of him. She wiped her face again and followed him into the woods. Rachel was no tracking expert, so she just followed her instincts. Being 9 months pregnant didn't help either. She tried her best not to fall over anything, and although that was hard, she managed to not fall. Rachel tried not to let her fear get the best of her. She knew that she had to find him and talk to him about what had just happened. She was slightly afraid of Daryl at this point because she didn't think he'd ever pull something like that on her. She remembered how he'd promised to protect her and the baby. She made her way towards the river. If she wasn't so focused on finding Daryl, she'd have stopped and looked around, embracing the beautiful outdoors. When she reached the river, she surprisingly spotted Daryl sitting on a boardwalk. His legs were dangling above the water and his brown hunting boots were beside him. His head was hanging and she assumed that he was staring at the water. She could see his tattoo peeking from his sleeveless vest.

Rachel took a deep breath and walked towards him. She carefully sat down, minding her belly and he didn't say anything to her, or even look at her. She looked down at the water and looked at their reflection for a while. Her hair looked dull and wavy. She missed wearing makeup and styling her hair. Rachel could see him looking at her reflection. She smiled slightly and intertwined her fingers with his. She looked away from the water and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Le's go," he broke the silence. She lifted her head and looked at him confusedly, "we don't need 'em, so le's go. Jus' the two of us."

She shook her head. "Daryl…no," she refused, "we _do _need 'em. And they need us. They need _you_."

"Fuck that," he said and looked at the water, "I'm sick of 'em. Think 'bout it –It'll jus' be me an' you…and the baby," he suggested.

She shook her head again. "I wanna stay. We need Hershel for the baby."

He snorted. "Hershel ain't even 'ere," he told her.

"Rick and Glenn went to get 'im."

Daryl sighed, "We'll be fine without Hershel. I'll just getcha a parenting book or somethin'."

She widened her eyes in shock. "Daryl, takin' care of a baby ain't that simple. Somethin' goes wrong durin' birth, I'll need Hershel. Or even Lori and Carol. We need to stay." He didn't say anything because he knew she was right, "tell you what," she said. He looked at her. "After I have the baby and once we're completely sure that it'll be okay, we can think 'bout it. But I need to stay right now. _We _need to stay."

He took a deep breath, then nodded. "I-I didn't mean to…" he said softly.

She put her chin on his shoulder again and closed her eyes. "I know," she whispered. He rested his head on hers and the two remained like that.

* * *

Excuse all mistakes and errors and please review :D


	13. Chapter 13

Hello.

I've got some good news: I have a beta reader now, so there won't be as many mistakes anymore.

And some bad news: I'm scraping this story.

JUST KIDDING.

* * *

"Go fish."

Carl picked a card from the deck. He studied his new card for a second, but quickly figured out what his next move was going to be. He smiled proudly as he threw four cards down onto the table. Rachel sighed in defeat and looked at her set of cards blankly. She wasn't really paying attention anyway; she was too focused on the fact that Daryl was about to go out after Rick. Every once in a while she'd glance over her cards to watch the others pack the Hyundai. Rachel didn't want him to go, but she knew that he had to for the sake of everybody. They needed Rick, Glenn and Hershel and she knew that.

"Rachel?!" Carl hissed, trying to get her attention. She shook her head, looking back at the preteen and half-smiling.

She looked at her cards again. "Gimme all your fives?" she asked him. He looked down at his cards and reluctantly handed her a card. She licked her lips as she placed a full set of fives on the table in front of her. Just as Carl opened his mouth to say something, a growling car engine got louder and louder. They both stopped and looked into the distance, just as everybody else did. The red Cherokee was coming closer, much to their relief. Rachel and Carl got up at the same time and while Carl raced down to greet his father; Rachel shuffled down slowly and carefully. Lori, Patricia, Maggie and Carol soon came rushing out the house soon after and waited for Rick to park the car.

The three men got out of the car and after they were embraced by their family, Hershel commanded Patricia to prepare the shed for surgery and that made everyone question what he was talking about. Shane was the first to cut the cheese, as always and pointed out the mysterious, blind-folded man that was nonchalantly sitting in the car. Daryl pulled the door open to get a better look.

"Oh," Glenn said and looked at the man casually, "that's Randall."

Everyone, apart from Rick, Glenn and Hershel, looked at each other. Without wasting another minute, Hershel asked Shane, Rick and Daryl to bring Randall inside because apparently he had gotten seriously injured somehow. They obeyed without further question until the operation was complete.

Everyone waited for Hershel in the dining room. There was complete silence until he entered and confirmed that he had saved the boy and that he'd only recover in at least a week's time.

"When he's on his feet, we'll give 'im a canteen and send 'im on 'is way," Rick ordered.

Andrea frowned. "Isn't that the same as leaving him for the walkers?"

"He'll have a fightin' chance," he assured her.

Shane stepped forward with an irritable sigh. "He knows where we are."

Rick shook his head and narrowed his eyes. "He's not a threat. He was blindfolded the whole way."

"How many were there?" Shane argued. "You killed three of their men and took one hostage, and they ain't gonna come lookin' for him?"

"They left him for dead. No one is looking!" Rick argued back, starting to get annoyed.

"He'll be out for hours," Hershel said, preventing any further conflict between Shane and Rick.

Shane started heading for the door. "You know what? I'm gonna go get him some flowers and candy! Look at us, people. Goin' back to fantasy land! " he said sarcastically and tried to leave.

Hershel quickly stepped in front of him. "We haven't even dealt with what you did to my barn the other day. Let me make this perfectly clear once and for all; this is my farm. I wanted you gone but Rick changed my mind, but that doesn't mean I like it. So do us both a favor," Hershel warned him and paused. "Keep your mouth shut," the farmer finished his sentence off. Shane looked back at everyone, who all remained silent, and left the house.

It happened to be that very moment that Rachel felt an agonizing bolt of pain run through her body. It was like someone had taken their collection of kitchen knives and slowly pierced them into her stomach. She thought she was dying for a second and immediately seized her belly. She clamped her eyes shut and let out a thunderous cry, bowing her head and clasping her teeth in misery. The first person at her side was Daryl, who had been quietly standing behind her throughout the meeting. Everyone else looked at her worriedly and the first person to say something was Maggie.

"Rachel?" she asked worriedly. They all knew what to expect.

She opened her eyes, teeth still clenched and all. "The baby," she managed to breathe. At this point both Lori and Rick were at her side with Daryl.

"Oh shit!" Daryl exclaimed, holding Rachel and pacing his eyes between her and Hershel.

"Bring her in here," Hershel commanded and led them to the other guestroom with Patricia right behind him. Daryl and Rick helped Rachel to walk and Lori and Maggie walked behind them. "Maggie," Hershel said and looked at her, "I need trash bags. At least two. And a pair of scissors."

The eldest daughter nodded and left the room.

"HERE IT IS AGAIN!" Rachel cried out, scrunching her face up. She was having her second contraction. Hershel stripped the bed, leaving only the sheet and pillows. Soon, Maggie and Glenn came rushing in with three trash bags. Hershel spread the bags out on the bed before instructing Rick and Daryl to put her down.

"Patricia, start timin'," Hershel instructed and handed her his pocket watch. She obeyed and started counting. "Everyone, you need to give us some space. Lori and Carol, you'll stay." Everyone obeyed and soon, the room just contained Rachel, Daryl, Maggie, Patricia, Lori and Carol. "We need to get your pants off," Hershel told her, breaking her away from her thoughts. She nodded and allowed Lori and Carol to get the job done. "Maggie, please get her some water," he requested. Rachel tried to thank him, but another contraction took over. She took deep breaths until Maggie returned with the water. She gulped it down and requested another glass. "I'm going to have to look down there to check how dilated you are," Hershel informed her and looked at Daryl for permission. Daryl nodded once and looked at Rachel, who granted Hershel authorization.

Unfortunately, Rachel's pain and agony was nowhere near to the finish line.

She lay there for another hour or so, resting and gasping for air after every contraction with Hershel checking every few seconds. Rachel's level of stress however, was nothing compared to Daryl's. He kept whispering things to himself, trying to calm down.

Rachel caught him talking to himself and she couldn't help but laugh slightly. "Daryl Dixon, who is givin' birth? Me or _you_?" she joked, sporting a cocky grin. His anxiety prevented him from laughing. Instead, he just looked at her impassively. She talked to him, trying to get her mind of the torture her body was experiencing. "This is your fault," she accused him playfully.

He finally flashed a smile at her. "Don't hate the player; hate the game," he retorted. This was the first time in a long time the two of them had shared a joke.

Her smile increased in size. _This was the Daryl Dixon she knew. _Not the cold one she had been dealing with lately. She could understand why he was cold; the guy just lost his best friend and presumably his brother. Still, it felt good to joke around just like the old days. "Easy for you to say," she shot back.

Daryl snorted.

Her smile faded. "SHIT!" Rachel cussed and kept her eyes on Daryl. "Daryl, I don't want to do this anymore! Please!"

She panted hard, crying in pain. Daryl didn't know what to say to her. He took a deep breath. "Rach. You're nearly there. C'mon. Just push!"

A few seconds later, Rachel had another one but it was even worse than the previous one. She grabbed the first thing she could, which happened to be Daryl's shirt. She pulled him closer and buried her head in his chest, panting and closing her eyes. It felt as though she was paralyzed from her hips and lower. Her back pains were unbearable and she let out a small whimper. She relaxed a bit, but still kept her eyes shut. She blocked out every sound that was around her and tried to think about something that was painless.

"You can do this, Rach. I know you can," Daryl assured her over again.

She shook her head swiftly. "I can't!" she denied, eyes still shut.

He nodded. "Yes you can. Don't lie to me, girl. Ain't nothin' compared to what we've been through so far."

She puckered her brows, opening her eyes. "_We?" _she breathed.

He nodded. "This ain't the time to give up, so you're gonna pop that damn baby out and you're gonna be fine," he reassured her.

She shook her head to argue but before she could say something, Hershel intervened. "Rachel, I'm afraid it's time to push," he announced, lightly tapping her knee.

"Thank God," Rachel muttered under her breath. Patricia brought the towels, blankets, scissors and the umbilical cord clamp to Hershel's side. Hershel explained to Rachel that she needed to push for few full 15 seconds. She reluctantly nodded and waited for the dreaded pain.

Then it came.

"Deep breath, Rach!" Daryl soothed her. She looked at him and smiled before shutting her eyes and grabbing hold of Daryl's hand. She pushed with all her might and even threw in a few cuss words. When the 15 seconds were over, she was able to rest for short period until the next 15 seconds came around. She screamed and dug her nails into Daryl's skin, but he was too focused on her to feel any pain. He assured her that it was going to be okay over and over while stroking her head. Then Hershel gladly announced that he could see a head. Rachel pushed and pushed until Hershel told her to stop so that he could help the baby out.

"OH MY GOD!" she shrieked and squeezed Daryl's hand even harder. Lori and Carol cheered Rachel on during the final push.

"There we go!" Maggie said happily, clapping her hands as Hershel lifted the tiny human being up.

"Rach, you did it!" Daryl praised her with a smile. The room filled with cheers, but soon died out after realizing Hershel's facial expression. Rachel's grin disappeared into thin air as she stared at the baby with a blank expression. She didn't even blink. Lori, Carol and Maggie covered their mouths in dismay.

_The baby was dead_.


End file.
